That Night
by Crazy Chick 74
Summary: This is a Joey/Lauren story with a bit of a twist. If you don't like this pairing, don't read. Just my thoughts on what might have been. A companion story for One Night.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So here I am again... doesn't seem like long, right? Here is my "new" story.  
**

**This is actually a companion story to a previous one (One Night). I quite off re-read a story later and wish I'd done something else with it. This is my attempt to rectify that. **

**In One Night, the story was essentially from Lauren's point of view. This one will be different as it will be more Joey's side of the story and what his thoughts were throughout that story arc. Also because it's Joey and the type of person he is - it's a little dirtier :-) - so bear that in mind.  
**

**It's not vital for you to have read One Night - although I do recommend it obviously. And while the stories are by and large the same, with the same dialogue, the latter half of this story will cover many things that were missed in Lauren's version. Also, I hope that as I've made it from Joey's POV and because of who he is, I hope I've been able to add to it and make it seem like a fresh story. I think I have anyway. So on with the show. Enjoy!  
**

**That Night.**

**Chapter 1.**

Joey had never been able to forget that night. It was tattooed on his brain, a permanent scar he would always remember. And it wasn't just because it had led to him losing his job; a job he'd loved since the day he'd started there. No, that night from five months ago was still so clear to him because that had been the night he'd met _her_. It had also been the night Joey fell in love for the first time.

*JL*JL*

The bar had been busy that night. He had been run off his feet for nearly two hours and he was longing for his break as it meant he'd get a chance to catch his breath and have some time away from the demanding customers. The music in the club was loud and he was sure it would lead to hearing problems for him in the future as he worked here six nights a week. Tonight was a typical night for the club, it was filled to almost bursting and at times Joey wondered if security had let in too many people because they seemed to be everywhere. In fact the queue for his section of the bar was lengthening all the time, regardless of however many customers he served. As he served his current one he glanced up and that was the first moment he saw her. It was just a fleeting glimpse of her really, there were too many customers in his way to get a proper look but he knew it sent shivers through him and she took his breath away. His customer moved away and the next stepped forward, his eyes darted once more to the brunette that had caught his attention and for a second he was sure he imagined she was looking at him, hoping she was really raking her eyes up and down his body. He turned back to his customer and flashed a wide smile at the women before him. She wasn't a patch on the beauty he longed to serve but the smiles and flirting sometimes got hefty tips, all of which were his to take. That was the really good thing about this job, no sharing of any tips he got and Joey knew that in the looks department he had been blessed. Not that he was vain about it; he was just realistic enough to know that women appreciated the way he looked so he took advantage of that situation for his own financial gain. Where was the harm in that? Joey just hoped the beauty several customers back was of a similar mind.

He finished with the customer and again she was off. There were only two customers now until he got to serve her. He hoped more than anything that she didn't move to a different queue. He served the customer at the front quickly and soon she was gone as well, just one more girl to go. This one wanted a cocktail and he prepared it as fast as he could, needing to get rid of her quickly. He was almost desperate now to speak to HER, he hoped more than anything that she liked him too. He sighed internally when his customer couldn't find the money in her purse, rifling through it as embarrassment blossomed on her face. Joey looked at the girl behind her and when she caught his eye he smirked at her and then winked as well, just for the hell of it. He was relieved when the money was finally handed to him and he turned and put it in the till. He turned back to the bar and there she was. So beautiful, her red halter neck top revealing an enticing amount of cleavage and a little bare flesh at her waist where it didn't quite meet the top of her tight jeans. Joey was in heaven and he just needed to convince the angel before him to spare him some time. He rested his hands on the bar, knowing this showed his toned arms beneath his white shirt to full affect and smiled at her, "What can I get you?" he asked her.

"Vodka and coke, please." She replied and he smiled again.

Joey stepped away from her and got the shot of vodka, his eyes glancing at her intermittently in the reflection of the mirror behind the bottles. Did he just imagine her staring at his ass? Quickly he turned back and poured some coke into the glass, with an added flourish that made her giggle. He put the glass down on the bar in front of her, "Anything else?" he said, staring intently into her eyes.

"A kiss would be nice..." she responded and it took his breath away, for so many reasons. Firstly she was flirting with him. Secondly her voice... well how she almost purred the words affected his body in ways that would've made a teenage boy squirm in his seat. For Joey though, he felt the desire shoot through him and he knew he wanted this girl. And for the love of all things holy he was going to have her.

"I don't know if I'm in your price range." He said, smiling widely.

"I think you'll find I can afford you," She said quickly and Joey was pleased to hear her flirting back at him.

Mind you, he would've had to have been an idiot not to see it, she wasn't exactly hiding it. And Joey was far from being an idiot. That being said, he knew he needed to move onto the next customer even if he'd happily just talk to this girl all night. His queue was getting no shorter. "Maybe later..." he told her, hoping she'd welcome his words, "I've got a break in a while."

"What time?" she asked, as eager as he'd hoped she'd be.

Joey glanced at his watch, "About 45 minutes..." His eyes widened slightly, his cock throbbing within his jeans when she reached over the bar and grabbed his wrist, glancing at his watch so she could see what the time was now. Having her touch his skin was electrifying, for a second Joey almost forgot to breathe. How he would get through the time before his break was unfathomable to him at that moment, the relatively simple task of breathing was currently difficult for him to grasp.

"See you then." She smiled at him brightly. And such a gorgeous smile it was. "How much do I owe you?"

"It's on the house." Joey told her, winking at her again, putting the money aside from tips he'd already gained for her drink. He watched her and could've sworn he saw her face flush slightly. Then she blew a kiss at him and Joey was a lost man. He watched her walk away, his eyes studiously watching her swaying hips, barely aware of the next two customers that he quickly despatched. He could see her standing at the far end of the bar and he longed to walk down to her, grab her in his arms and proceed to fuck her against the bar, in full view of the rest of the club if needs be. His need to touch her was growing as the minutes moved slowly by.

Finally forty five minutes had passed and Joey strode down the bar, heading in only one direction, towards the vision of beauty awaiting him. When he first got to her he could barely make himself look at her, it was just a small moment of self doubt. What if he'd read the situation all wrong? Then his hormones kicked in and he couldn't deny the desire climbing inside him. He wanted her _now_. Joey lifted his head and caught her eyes, watching as her pupils dilated under his gaze. He barely heard her welcome him with a soft "hi" before he grabbed her hand in his, continuing to stare into her eyes. He felt his heart race as he pushed her hair back from her face, his fingers grazing her ear as he tucked her hair behind it. The next thing Joey was aware of was when his lips met hers in a heated kiss. Then he tasted her, his tongue sweeping into her mouth and dancing with hers.

Her small hands grasped at the front of his shirt and she moaned as he deepened the kiss without even having to think about it. This seemed so natural to him. His whole life had been on standby, waiting for this moment and as she moaned into his mouth Joey wanted more. Both of them were short of breath when they pulled apart but Joey couldn't resist flirting with her a little more. "Did that meet your requirements?" he asked her, smirking again at her flushed expression.

"Not bad... Maybe you should run it by me again, just to make sure I caught all the finer details." Her response was witty and Joey could feel a previously undefined emotion shift within him.

"I think I can manage that." He said as he looked around the room. His eyes settled on a dark corner where they would be hidden from everyone and he knew what he was going to say to her. "Come with me?" he asked her gently, pleased when she quickly nodded in reply. His arm wrapped around her, pulling him against him and almost lifting her off her feet as he moved quickly to the place he'd spotted. Joey wasn't even sure if she'd noticed them move until he pressed her into the wall behind her and he saw her eyes darken. He slowly lowered his hands to her hips, his thumbs grazing the soft skin between her top and jeans. Her skin was hot and he wanted to feel more. With one step forward Joey pushed his body up against hers, pressing his hard cock against her stomach, testing the waters and waiting a response.

Her next move surprised him as she stood on her toes and put her arms around his neck. He almost fell apart as her fingers brushed through his hair and then she pulled his head down for a kiss and once more he was blown away by the sensation of her mouth on his. He could feel her trying to dominate the kiss but the man inside him couldn't let her take control and as he won the battle he heard her moan into his mouth and felt her hips push against him. It was all the encouragement he needed.

He grabbed at her body, his hands pushing under the material of her top and sweeping up to her chest, cupping her bra-free breasts eagerly. She writhed against him, her chest pushing into his hands and he felt her nipples harden as he touched her. His cock was as hard as it had ever been and Joey needed some relief from the pressure that was quickly building. He kissed her deeply again before moving his mouth to her jaw and neck. She tasted divine and he wasn't done with her yet.

He pulled away from her slightly and he saw the flash of disappointment in her eyes which quickly disappeared as he moved his hands to her jeans. He knew no one would be able to see her as he pushed her jeans and underwear down her legs, taking in the sight of her eagerly. She kissed him as he undid his own jeans, barely moving them out of the way as his need to be with her escalated and took over. He stared into her eyes as he pushed his cock into her, her soft moan a welcome sound to his ears. Her feet were no longer on the ground as he pressed her into the wall, his height above her and body strength forsaking her ability to stand, not that he was sure she'd be able to anyway. His hips had taken on a mind of their own as his hands one more caressed her chest. He was in sensory overload and as they both came, Joey was only slightly disappointed it was over so quickly.

He sagged against her, his breath heavy as he buried his head in her neck, kissing her skin softly. Eventually they pulled apart and began the quick process of straightening their clothes. Her breathy "Wow," echoing Joey's thoughts perfectly.

"I take it that was okay then?" He smirked at her as he finally did up his jeans.

"God yes." She whispered as she looked away from him and he could see she was embarrassed a little. When her fingers began to fiddle with the buttons of his shirt he had to stop her or he'd have to take her again and, unfortunately for him, his break was nearly over. So his hands covered hers, ceasing all movement.

"I need to get back to work," he said, glancing at his watch. He kissed her once more, taking his time with this kiss but hopefully showing her some of the emotion he was feeling. "I wish I could stay but I can't afford to lose my job."

"It's okay. I need to get back to my friends anyway." She said gently. He stepped away from her and that one step was almost the breaking of him. Her next words made him want to quit his job there and then but he knew he couldn't. "It was fun." She said before winking at him. Joey smiled at her, pleased to get one last look at that beauty before returning to his job, not realising how short-lived that was going to be.

He hadn't seen her again all evening and there was no hiding that he was disappointed by this. What surprised him more though was the intense reaction he'd had to her in the first place. In all his time here he'd never done anything like that with a customer before, not even a kiss. But with _her_ he'd had full blown sex with her without a second thought. What was it about her that made her so different? The thing was he knew the answer to that question; he knew she was special.

*JL*JL*

When his shift ended Joey was called into his boss's office where he proceeded to get hauled over the coals regarding his disgraceful behaviour with a customer of the club. Someone had ratted on him and with his tips and wages for the night in hand Joey was escorted from the building, never to return. He wasn't sure he would make the same choice again, even if he knew what the eventual outcome would be.

As he was walking towards the tube station so he could get home Joey realised he didn't even know her name and he could kicked himself for being so stupid. He should have got her name. He should've told her his. He should've done many things, he realised but his most intense thought was how he should've arranged to see her again.

It turns out he was an idiot after all.

TBC

**A/N2: So what did you think? My first Joey/Lauren sex scene. Let me know what you thought in a review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Happy New Year everyone!**

**Here is the second chapter of this story. I meant to post this earlier but ended up coming home from my parents a bit early as they had no water (!) so as that meant no shower or toilet facilities I decided to come back home instead. Anyway, enjoy this chapter.  
**

**Chapter 2.**

The weeks and months after that night were difficult for Joey Branning. He was devastated to lose his job but what affected him more was the fact he knew there was little chance of seeing his mystery woman again.

In the current economic climate he didn't found another job either so he spent whole days lounging around at home, thinking about her, dreaming about her. Wishing there was some way he could see her again. He knew nothing about her so it wasn't like he had any hope of finding her. It led to a very miserable Joey Branning. And a miserable Joey Branning was a very difficult person to live with as his mother and sister could attest to.

And so began a period of mourning for Joey while he tried to get his head and heart back in order. He cut himself off from his friends and drank more than he should, trying to forget but at the same time, not really wanting to. His solitude and drinking were both things he received a lot of grief from his mother about. The problem was he couldn't help it, he couldn't change even if he wanted to. He didn't know how to deal with this. What he was facing was something completely new for him and despite having only known the girl from that night for a few minutes; for all intents and purposes Joey was grieving the loss of what might have been.

She haunted his dreams to such an extent it got to the point where he tried not to. It was too painful to see her each night, to wake up so aroused from the sight of her, the memory of her so fresh in his head he expected her to be there besides her. He longed to hear her voice but when he dreamt of her she said nothing. He wasn't even sure if he was remembering it correctly.

In short Joey was depressed. In just a few minutes, his mystery woman had changed him, he just didn't realise how much that was yet.

Then about four and a half months after that night things got even worse for him as his family was torn apart. It became apparent his sister Alice had contacted their father, a man Joey hated with his entire being. His mum had found out about it and there had been an almighty row between mother and daughter which culminated in Alice walking out of the house, heading for some small suburb in the east end of London. It was not an easy time in the Branning household.

For about a week Joey didn't know what he could do to help but then he realised he needed to try and get Alice to return home. So he tried to call her and after several avoided calls, she finally sent him a message back and told him where she was staying. To say he was upset to find out she was staying with their dad as the understatement of the century, he trusted him about as far as he could throw him. So his decision was easy really and he made the quick walk to his nearest tube station and his subsequent journey to Walford East tube station. It wasn't like it was going to take him very long anyway; he was just going to talk his sister into returning home. Joey knew that wouldn't take much time at all.

Little did he realise how much that trip was going to change his life.

*JL*JL*

Almost the first thing he'd seen as he left Walford tube station was Derek, which made him angry, unsurprisingly. Of course he was in the process of threatening two young girls, who he saw but barely paid attention to as his focus was caught on his father. He raised his fist and punched him in the face, loving the chance to see him fall to the floor. It was satisfying after years of heartache suffered by his mother when she was married to Derek. Alice was there too so maybe she would realise how awful their father really was.

After making sure Derek stayed on the ground Joey then turned his attention to the two girls he'd been hassling. He walked over to them, his attention initially caught by the pretty blonde. He flirted with her for several seconds, introducing himself and telling her she wouldn't have any more problems with his dad. She definitely caught his eye and of course his natural instinct was to flirt with her. He didn't even have to think about it.

He noticed Alice had left with his father which he found a little infuriating but he knew he'd handle that later. He was still hopeful of being able to convince Alice to come home with him. He hadn't given up yet. After all, he was Joey Branning... who could say no to him?

He heard a slight commotion further to his right and when he turned towards it, wondering if his father was terrorising someone else, his life changed forever. There she was, the woman from that night. The angel from his dreams. The girl he loved. The one that held his heart in her hand.

He was a bit confused when he helped her to her feet though. She didn't look pleased to see him. He knew she recognised him, he could see it deep in her eyes. What really confused him though were the tears streaming down her face and the fear written across her face. Had he done something to cause her this pain or to scare her? Maybe she was upset because he hadn't seen her since that night.

She ran away from him as soon as he helped her to her feet and Joey watched her leave, feeling his heart break all over again with each step she took away from him. He turned to her friend, the blonde, who he now found out was called Lucy and then things became a little clearer when she told him his mystery girl's name. Lauren.

Or Lauren Branning to be exact.

She was a Branning. She was his cousin.

Life was very unfair.

TBC

**A/N2: So what did you think? How do you like Joey's reaction to the loss of his mystery woman? Let me know what you think. I hope to get the next chapter posted later today. :-)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So here is chapter 3. This contains material not shown in One Night so I'd be interested in hearing what you think. Enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 3.**

It wasn't long before Joey found himself embroiled in life on Albert Square. That first day he had to leave, returning home but he already knew he was going to go back there. Only now it wasn't just his sister he wanted to see. Much more important, for him anyway, was seeing _her_. When Joey returned home, he had a new vigour about him. There was a spring in his step which surprised his mum and gave her hope her son might be turning a corner and becoming more like the young man he used to be. If only she'd known what it was that had made her son smile for the first time in months? The fact she was about to lose her other child to her husband never occurred to her and she didn't take it well when he left for Walford. In fact she was devastated – but more about that later.

*JL*JL*

Joey knew he had much to think about when he got home after that first trip. Once he'd got over the initial shock of running into her so unexpectedly he then had to get his head around just who she was. She was his relation and he'd had sex with her. Unfortunately, for a short while at least, he couldn't his brain past that thought. Really it wasn't that big a deal, right? Then he realised if he was having difficulty getting past the fact they were related to each other, he was pretty sure Lauren would be as well... and as for anyone else...?

It took him a couple of days but in the end it became clear to him that, in his heart, the fact she was his cousin was irrelevant to him. Yes, it was a problem, possibly one of many but, to him, it didn't matter. Not enough for him to not try and form some kind of relationship with her. They hadn't been raised knowing each other and he loved her. He knew it. Whatever happened in the future, how he felt about her would never change for him. Would this matter to her though? From that brief glance of her face he was scared it might. She'd seemed devastated, obviously she'd worked out who he was before he had and she was distraught by it. It was like a double edged sword for him; in a little way it gave him hope because he thought it might mean she had some feelings for him but at the same time it killed him as he realised the chances of her wanting to be with him were slim at best. At that moment he was teetering between going back there and running for the hills in the other direction.

As they had many times in the last months, in those first few days, before he returned to Walford, at the stage when his decision to return was still not firm, his thoughts often drifted to his memories of her. Both from that night and the fleeting glance he'd had of her just days earlier. She was different now than he'd remembered. It was small subtle changes but they were definitely there. Whatever the changes were it hadn't changed his feelings; his desire for her.

He longed to see here again and instinct told him she wasn't going to make it easy for him.

*JL*JL*

Despite his hesitation, and regardless of the nagging doubt of it ever coming to fruition Joey had packed his bags and moved to Walford, under the pretence of convincing Alice to return home to their mum. His mum didn't take it well, fearing she'd end up losing both her children to her 'bastard ex-husband' (her words). It was another almighty row but this time with her son and things between the two of them were... well not good would barely skim the surface of how bad it was between mother and son as Joey walked through that door.

*JL*JL*

Despite his guilt at also abandoning his mother, Joey didn't change his mind. He couldn't live with the emotional turmoil he'd been struggling with for the last few months. He needed to try and make things better – for both of him and Lauren. And his real motivation for returning to Walford had always and would always be to get closer to Lauren; to speak to her and get to know her better. If he was really lucky he was hoping he'd be able to convince her to leave with him. Joey wanted them to go away together, some place where no one knew them, where they could live as a couple without anyone judging them. It was the only option they had available to them, Joey had decided. He very much doubted any of their family would be enthusiastic about the two of them being together. That wasn't the biggest hurdle Joey was going to face though and he knew it. He was realistic enough to know his greatest barrier to his plan would be Lauren herself.

*JL*JL*

And Joey wasn't wrong. The very first day back on the square he'd seen her again. She'd seen him too and then she ran away, disappearing from his sight for more than two days. Finally though he got a chance to see her for more than a few seconds when he was invited over to his uncle's house for dinner, an introduction to the entire Branning side of the family, including Lauren. It did mean spending time with Derek regrettably but he'd make that sacrifice if it meant he got to see her, possibly even talk to her. She meant too much to him to consider not seeing her.

*JL*JL*

It turned out there was a great difference between being in the same room and actually talking to her and aside from a soft hello, Lauren steered well clear of him. It was a frustrating day for Joey just from that alone but add in Derek acting like some godlike patriarch of the family and lording it above everyone and his emotions were becoming increasingly despondent and when he'd left he'd spoke to his other uncle, Jack, about somewhere he could vent. Shortly after this time Joey had become a regular at Jack's gym. Hitting the punch bag had been a good way to let off steam and to think.

*JL*JL*

There was one other downside of him being in Walford, apart from his father, and that was Lauren's two friends. Both of them seemed to find him appealing and it was inconvenient for him as he couldn't cut ties with them because he needed them for the slightest chance of news about Lauren. Lucy was by far the worst. Since that first time of seeing him she was determined to get her claws into him and it was getting to the stage where it was becoming difficult for him to remain polite. He wasn't interested in either of them. There was only one person he was interested in and that was all he could focus on.

*JL*JL*

Joey knew he was going to have to be cleverer about this. If he wanted to speak to Lauren he needed to spring a surprise attack on her, so to speak; catch her when she wasn't expecting him. He'd also need to ensure he cut off as many possible escape routes as he could. Of course the current problem he was facing was getting her out of her house. He'd noticed she was cutting herself off from all her friends in the square and he was worried about her. For at least thirty seconds he even contemplated leaving the square entirely but in the end he couldn't do it.

*JL*JL*

There had been a few times when he'd tried this new method of approach with her and each time she'd evaded him successfully. Today was the day he was going to be successful though. He promised himself he wasn't going to let her avoid him any longer. It had been almost three months since he'd first seen her again and they couldn't keep going on like this. It was hurting him too much and he was pretty sure it was just as painful for her too.

*JL*JL*

In an effort to ensure he didn't let Lauren get away from him again Joey thought back through the times when he'd tried before to speak to her. The first time he'd been at the cafe. She was sitting at a table when Joey had gone in for a coffee. He spotted her and made his way over to her table – it was perfectly natural for him to talk to her, she was his cousin after all, right?

Wrong! Lauren looked like she was going to be sick when she saw him and it only got worse from there when he sat down opposite her. "Hi Lauren." He said, with a small smile seeing her watching him intently. It reminded him of that night all over again and he held her gaze. Lucy brought his coffee over to his table, flirting with him (as usual). He barely looked at her. There was little point, what he was interested in was sitting directly in front of him. Lucy realised she wasn't going to get anywhere and left the two of them alone.

Lauren wouldn't talk to him but she did keep staring at him. And Joey was just as bad, he couldn't look away from her at all. It was like he was barely able to move. Oh, how he'd missed her. He shook himself and lifted his cup to take a gulp of the piping hot drink. Of course, this was the opportunity Lauren had been waiting for and she darted from the table, her arms wrapped around her body as she made her way for the door.

Joey didn't even have a chance to stop her and as he watched her run away through the window his heart sank and it was then the realisation this was going to be much harder than he'd expected really sunk in.

*JL*JL*

The second time, Joey had been slightly better prepared but it was as bad a result as the first time. This time it was just the two of them around. There would be no interruptions from best friends or potential love interests. It would be just the two of them. He'd seen Lauren as she walked slowly across the square. At first he'd thought she was returning to her home and he hoped he'd be able to speak to her there but she walked past her house and down towards the community centre and park. Aware he'd become slightly stalker-like since he'd made the decision to actively woo his cousin, he strolled down the same route, hoping he'd be able to see her.

He did see her. She was sitting on the swings, her large bag clutched on her lap. Joey could tell from one glance that she was miserable. He just hoped he wasn't about to make her feel worse. He sat on the swing next to her, glancing at her as she stared at the ground. "Why can't you leave me alone?" she whispered after several minutes silence.

"You know why," he'd replied. "Is that what you really want?" he asked her softly, staring at her.

She turned her head and looked at his face, "I really do." She breathed, pushing herself carefully to her feet and slowly walking away from him.

"I don't believe you, Lauren." He called after her, resigning himself for failure once more. "I'm going to keep trying Lauren... unless you can truly convince me this is what you really want, I'm not leaving, Lauren. I'm too stubborn to give up yet." Her step faltered and for a brief second Joey thought she was going to come back to him. He just wanted to get a reaction out of her, anything, even if it was in anger. "You know I think we're a lot alike Lauren. I can tell you're as stubborn as I am." He said softly and he knew he had her attention now, "Maybe it's a Branning thing." He added and it seemed that was the last thing Lauren wanted to hear because she moved away from him again, faster this time and he'd let her go.

*JL*JL*

Joey stopped thinking about his past failures. Today was going to be a good day. He was going to get somewhere with her, he was determined. He was also a little desperate. Since his last attempt, where they'd at least spoken Joey had only seen her once... and that was from a distance. The last time he'd actually spoken to her, at the park, was thirty two days ago and Joey was most definitely counting. He wasn't prepared to let that count reach thirty three. He wanted to make some sort of progress with her. Joey had thought moving to Walford would be the start of new things for him. He'd expected to have got somewhere with her by now and he certainly wasn't any happier living here than he'd been before he found her again. It was almost like living in limbo. He needed to force a change. There had to be something he could do.

TBC

**A/N2: So what did you think? Did you like the introspective Joey? Send me a review and let me know. Next chapter tomorrow evening - when I get home from work.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So here we go - the next chapter. We've gone back to the original storyline now - from Joey's POV. This was a tough one to write... because, well to be perfectly honest I didn't want to get too graphic... Anyway enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 4.**

Joey decided he was going to go for the direct approach first. He knew the rest of the family had left the square earlier this morning. Jack had said they were heading out for the day when he'd seen him at the gym the night before so he'd been subtly watching the house since early that morning and had seen them leave. The four of them driving away, leaving Lauren behind. He wondered why she didn't go with them. Nevertheless this gave him the opportunity to speak to her. Joey was going to get somewhere with her today.

Just after lunch, he walked determinedly across the square and up the stairs to number five. He knocked on the door and stood waiting for an answer. There was no response from inside but he was sure he'd seen the curtain move slightly so he suspected she was still trying to avoid him. Taking a deep breath he knocked again but the door didn't open and he couldn't exactly kick it in, much as he'd like to. He was beginning to lose hope that it was going to work out. Not this time anyway.

He decided he'd try one last thing before leaving her for a while, so he crouched down by the door and lifted the letterbox. It wasn't dignified but if it got through to her he wasn't going to complain about it. "Lauren, I know you're in there." He told her, "Don't you think we should talk about this? You can't keep avoiding me. I'm not going anywhere, Lauren." He didn't really expect an answer and therefore wasn't wholly surprised when none came. He sighed, feeling despondent that she was still pushing him away. "I'm going to keep coming back, Lauren. I'll be back later." He promised her before walking back down the stairs and across to the gardens in the centre of the square. There he sat, watching the house. Watching and waiting for his opportunity to come.

*JL*JL*

Joey had expected the family to return in the evening. He was hoping to use it as a chance to get in the house and see Lauren but they never came back which surprised him. He hadn't thought they would leave her on her own overnight. Yes, she was eighteen but couldn't they see there was something very wrong with her.

He'd spent all day analysing everything he knew and had seen of Lauren since he'd arrived at the square, going through it over and over again, much as he had for the last three months and he knew there was something they were all missing. He hadn't spent enough time with her to work out what it was but his gut was telling him there was something he should've realised. Even in the short time he'd been on the square he'd noticed a change in her and he didn't see her every day, he wished he did. How could they not notice when they saw her every day? They lived with her, how did they miss it? Or was it they just didn't care?

By the time it was getting quite late he knew she was going to be on her own for the evening. Maybe she'd let him in if he tried again? One more try couldn't hurt, right? He stood and took a deep breath. Did he look nervous? Joey slowly went back to the door that blocked the way to his girl. He knocked on the door, harder this time. Not wanting to give her a chance to say she didn't hear him. He called her name through it as well, standing silent once he'd done that to see if he could hear anything.

Then he heard a sound that sent his heart racing. He heard her cry out in pain and instantly he knew he had to get in there somehow. She needed him, he knew it. And he was going to help her.

It was about this time that anxiety set in and later he would admit to himself that he panicked slightly as he tried to work out what to do next. It was because of this it took him a good two minutes to remember the back door to the house and he quickly made his way round to it.

He had no idea what he was going to face when he walked into the house but for as long as Lauren allowed him to be there for her, he would be. And he wasn't going to let her run away from him again, not without putting up a fight against it anyway.

Joey was lucky because the back door was unlocked and he was able to slip quietly into the house. The kitchen was a mess with a broken glass and water all over the floor. Now he was really concerned about her and he stepped over the mess, ignoring it to find out where she was, "Lauren?" He called out again, trying to ascertain where she could be.

What Joey saw when he walked into the lounge was not what he had anticipated, although he wasn't sure what he was actually expecting. The last thing he expected to see was her kneeling in front of the couch, half naked and obviously in a tremendous amount of pain. With a sickening realisation, every little glimpse of her over the last three months now made much more sense to him. He moved to her side, hoping to comfort her in some way. Joey placed his hand gently on her back, feeling the tension in her body as she struggled for air. As his fingers brushed beneath the baggy sweater and T-shirt she was wearing and he caressed her lower back she turned her head towards him and he saw her face. She was beautiful. She didn't look it in the conventional sense but as her eyes stared at him he wanted to tell her there and then just how he felt about her.

"Joey..." she cried out and he watched as huge tears ran down her already damp face. Her face twisted in pain and he guessed another contraction was coming as he saw her begin to push again. He gently rubbed her back, hoping he was doing something to help her but not knowing if there was more he should be doing. "I'm so sorry..." she whispered as her eyes met his. Joey could see how scared she was about what was happening and he reached for her hand, grasping it tightly in his.

"I didn't realise..." He said softly.

"No one knows." She whispered.

It was then the harsh reality of the situation hit him. She'd gone through all this on her own? "Not Max or Tanya?" He checked. She shook her head.

"I was trying to pretend it wasn't happening." She said, but the laugh she let out sounded much more like a sob than either of them would've liked. "I looked for you at the club. You were never there." She added in a whisper as she stared into his eyes.

Joey's heart fell at her admission. "I had to leave." He told her, looking down, "Someone reported me for what we did."

"I'm sorry." She gasped. Her hand tightened on his harder as another contraction approached. This was stronger than the other had been and he really struggled with watching her suffer as she tried to breathe through it. As it ended Joey pulled her tightly against his chest, kissing the top of her head. Her voice was a whisper when she spoke once more. "Then I found out who you were and I couldn't tell anyone. How could I tell anyone what we'd done? So I pretended it wasn't happening. Almost fooled myself as well sometimes. Until tonight."

His heart broke at her words. If only he'd known what was going on. If only she'd been able to tell him. There was a large part of him that understood though. He had himself been thrown when he'd found out they were related. And he hadn't been five months pregnant at the time. Shaking himself from his thoughts he knew he needed to get more information from her, "When did this start, Lauren?" he asked her gently.

"A few hours ago." She breathed. "Mum and dad are away overnight with Abi and Oscar. It's too soon, Joey. This shouldn't be happening yet." Her voice was bordering on hysterical by this point.

"Have you called an ambulance?" he asked her, brushing his fingers through her hair to comfort her.

"No." She whispered. "I've left it too late. They won't get here in time now anyway."

"I really think I should call them, babe. You haven't seen a doctor at all through the pregnancy, have you? What if something is wrong?" He couldn't lose her now. Not her and not the baby. His need for them both was increasing with each passing minute.

"Don't say that..." she whispered and he saw her eyes fill with tears at his words. Another contraction hit and she pushed again. It was getting more difficult for him to watch her in this much pain. If she was at the hospital she'd have been offered some pain relief and they'd be able to help if there were problems. Here though, all she had was him and he had no idea about the intricacies of delivering a baby. Within a minute he'd already made the decision to make the call and was moving the phone to his ear, "What are you doing?" she hissed at him.

"Ambulance please..." he said when it was answered. The relief he felt at saying those words were only surpassed by her reaction to the next he uttered, "My girlfriend is in labour." He saw her face when he called her his girlfriend and part of him rejoiced at the small glimmer of hope he felt in that moment. The voice at the other end of the line asked him for more information so he said the first thing he could think of, "She's not due yet. It's early." He stared at Lauren as the person at the other end of the line spoke to him, telling him how he was going to have to help Lauren. "Hang on... let me explain to her." He put the phone down on the couch and turned his attention to Lauren. "She wants me to look and see how you're doing." He told her gently. His heart broke when he saw her begin to sob but then she seemed to collect herself because she nodded at him and let him help her move so she was lying on the floor.

Joey would never have been prepared for this kind of situation and to be perfectly honest he had completely no idea what he was going to see when he looked at the part of her body he'd only been close to once before, and certainly not in these circumstances. When he looked though he was taken aback by the sight, "I can see the head," he called out to the phone which was now on speaker as it lay beside him. The voice at the other end of the line talked him through what was going to happen over the next few minutes and while it blew his mind that this was happening, he knew he couldn't let Lauren down. This was far too important. He needed to be strong for her and the baby.

He glanced up at her and could see the somewhat vacant expression on her face, almost masking the fear she was feeling. He needed to touch her and reassure her that everything was going to be okay so Joey reached for her face, his hand brushing across her cheek and drawing her focus back to him. "On the next contraction, the head will be out, Lauren." He told her gently, "You'll need to stop pushing once that happens. I've got to check and make sure the cord isn't in the way."

"It's coming..." she told him softly, gripping his hand tightly as she bore down and began to push.

"That's it, babe." He encouraged her, watching the miracle happening before him. Lauren let out a scream as the head came free of her body and Joey knew it was time for him to step up to the plate. He couldn't let her down. He needed to get this right. It had never been more important for him to do so. "Stop now, Lauren. Just for a few seconds." He whispered, making sure he had her attention.

"It hurts, Joey." She cried and he wished he could take away some of that pain. He also knew that the easiest way of doing that was to deliver this baby... however much that scared him to death.

"I know, honey, I know." He said softly then fell silent as he checked to make sure the baby wasn't in any distress and the cord wasn't around its neck, "There's no cord," he called out to the voice on the other end of the phone.

"On the next push, your baby will be born," the voice said gently. "You'll need to leave the umbilical cord attached until the ambulance arrives. It should be with you within the next couple of minutes."

"Joey..." Lauren whispered to him, tears still running down her face. He saw her begin to push and realised the next contraction had hit. Before he could completely understand what had happened the baby's body was pushed into his hands and he stared at it in wonder.

"It's a boy..." he whispered as he held him carefully, passing the child to his mum, laying him on her chest. He watched as she stared at the tiny thing in wonder. His child. Their child. He watched her check him over, trying to reassure herself that he was perfect in every way. Joey's love for her only increased with each second as he stared at her with pride.

A knock on the door startled him from watching her and he ran to open it, ushering in the two paramedics who began to check over the child and its mother. Joey was stunned when he was asked if he wanted to cut the cord but he eagerly nodded his head, wanting to be as involved with this as he could be. Despite her stubborn nature it took very little for Joey to convince her she needed to go to the hospital so they could both be checked out thoroughly.

Joey stood near her when Lauren was loaded onto a stretcher and trailed behind her when she was taken out to the awaiting ambulance. There were several residents of the square waiting in the street, having seen the flashing lights. Joey clutched the small bundle containing his son in his arms and climbed into the vehicle behind Lauren. He heard the small gasp from some of those gathered around as they realised just what had happened. Joey looked up as the doors were being closed on the ambulance, directly into the eyes of his uncle Jack.

TBC

**A/N2: So that is how Jack finds out and contacts Max and Tanya (I'm going to assume you've read One Night by now - if you haven't it's a bit of a spoiler for the next chapter... oh well!). What did you think? Let me know.**

**Next chapter tomorrow.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So here's the next chapter and it's the longest one yet. Enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 5.**

Time passed quickly once they'd arrived at the hospital and Joey was torn between going with his son or staying with Lauren. However she told him to go with their son so he'd briefly left her. Both had been given a clear bill of health after their checks but the doctor's wanted to keep them in hospital for a couple of days to make sure everything was okay. The fact their baby was early was a concern to them although he was a pretty good size for one almost four weeks premature. Adding to that was that Lauren had had no antenatal care throughout her pregnancy, so this was another potential problem. The doctors were a little concerned but not as worried as Joey was however.

When Joey pushed the crib into her room about thirty minutes after leaving her, he saw the smile on her face that she bestowed upon them both. The nerves were beginning to build inside him, he knew they needed to talk but he was afraid she was going to reject him again. After everything that had happened in the last few hours he wasn't sure he could cope with losing them both now. He lifted their child in his arms and passed him to her, his hand resting lightly on Lauren's back, his thumb brushing the skin just above the gown she was wearing, at the base of her neck.

The two of them sat there for quite a while, both staring at the baby Lauren was holding. It was as if both of them were afraid to break the silence. The elephant in the room was looming large and nobody was willing to mention it. Joey's hand gently rubbed her back and he could've sworn he imagined her leaning back against him. A lot of time passed with neither of them saying anything. Joey decided whatever they both needed to say could be left until the morning. He wanted a few more hours of being here with them both before she pushed him away.

There was one thing he wanted to ask her now though. "Have you thought of a name?" Joey asked her gently as he gazed at both Lauren and his son, still in awe a couple of hours after they got there.

Before Lauren could answer him, the door opened and his aunt and uncle walked into the room, "Lauren?" Max said, shock clear in his voice as he saw the three of them.

"Dad... mum." She whispered, tears flooding her eyes as she saw her parents. Joey could see she was on the verge of a big meltdown.

"Darling, why didn't you tell us?" Tanya asked softly as they both neared her side.

'Why didn't you realise?' Joey thought sullenly. He pulled away from Lauren slightly, feeling his mood begin to shift to the more negative end of the spectrum and not wanting Lauren to realise. He stared at her parents, stewing about the fact neither of them had noticed how their daughter had been suffering in silence and confusion for the last eight months.

"I'm sorry," Lauren whispered as the facade she'd been trying to maintain disappeared in an instant as she looked at her mother. Tanya hugged her daughter against her as the tears began once more.

"Lauren, you could've told us." Max said gently.

'You could've asked her.' Joey thought, 'I realised something was wrong and I've barely seen her.' He was getting angrier as he watched them speak to her. How could they be so blind when it came to their eldest daughter?

"I was scared. At first I tried to pretend it wasn't happening. The longer I left it, the harder it was to tell you." She said in a whisper.

"Can I hold him?" Tanya asked gently. Lauren passed his son to her and they all watched as Tanya stared down at him. Joey could see how much she was already in love with her grandson.

"You should've said something to your mum when you spoke to her earlier." Max said again.

"I didn't know I was in labour, dad. It wasn't until later that I realised. He was early and I wasn't expecting it to happen yet." Joey could understand how she hadn't known, after all it's not like she'd done this before... unlike two other people in this room. Again he couldn't see how they hadn't worked it out for themselves or at least suspected she was hiding something.

Max then turned his attention to his nephew, "Thank you for looking after her, Joey." He said, stepping forward and shaking his hand. Joey glanced at Lauren, knowing her dad had misunderstood his involvement in this. "What?" he asked when he saw the shared look, immediately picking up something was going on with them. Joey almost wanted to laugh at the irony of the situation when he saw Max had spotted that but had missed the fact his daughter was pregnant for the last eight months.

"I..." Joey began but realised he had no idea how to continue. Did Lauren even want him to tell them?

"Dad, Joey's the father." Lauren whispered, her voice barely audible and Joey looked at her, hoping she realised how much he loved her for saying those words alone. Whatever happened in the future, they would always know who had fathered her child.

His uncle's reaction was instantaneous and one Joey understood, "But you're cousins..." he shouted which unfortunately woke his grandson, making him start to cry.

Lauren tried to calm their son, jostling him slightly in her arms as she did so. "We didn't know, Dad." She told him as she did so.

Her words caused Max to stop and he stared at his daughter, frowning slightly as he tried to get his head around what she'd just told him. It was clear he didn't understand. "Explain it to me." He asked. Both of the youngsters hesitated slightly longer than he wanted them to so he encouraged them by sternly adding, "NOW!"

There was no avoiding telling them now, the cat was well and truly out of the bag and it was Lauren who began, "It was eight months ago, before Joey came to the square. I'd gone to a club with the others and Joey was one of the bar men. As soon as I saw him I liked him, dad. It was like I couldn't fight it. We ended up together and it was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. Then he was gone... we didn't even know each other's names." Joey saw Max frown when she said that which Lauren noticed, "Okay, it wasn't our finest moment but I had no idea what was going to happen." Joey brushed his hand down her back and Lauren glanced at him.

Again Max's focus shifted to him and Joey wondered briefly if he was going to make it through the night in one piece. "Do you make a habit of taking advantage of young girls who frequent the places you work? Without even finding out her name."

"NO!" Joey said sharply. He was pained by the accusation and determined to get his uncle to believe him. "It had never happened before and it hasn't since. Like Lauren said, there was this attraction between us, I can't even begin to explain it." It really was hard to put into words how he'd felt that night. He'd tried many times to do so but he couldn't. He also wasn't sure he could put into words how he felt tonight either. There were just too many emotions for him to quantify.

"You should've told us when you found out," Max said to him, jumping to the wrong conclusion again.

"I only found out tonight." Joey told him, looking at Lauren and his son and realising just how much his life had changed in the last few hours.

Max crouched beside the bed so he could see his daughter. "Explain this to me, Lauren because I don't understand why you didn't say anything."

"I realised about two months after it happened and I went back to the club to see if I could find him. I wanted to tell him. He deserved to know. He wasn't there though. I tried four or five times to find him but I never did." Joey watched her as Lauren leant down and kissed their son on his forehead, feeling guilty about not being there for her to find each of those times. "I was scared and I was alone so I ignored it. I hoped it would go away." She looked at her parents, "I know it was stupid and that was never going to happen but I wasn't really thinking logically. Then when I was five months pregnant, Joey arrived on the square and I found out who he was. I felt sick when I realised we were related and we'd had sex. Suddenly it became much more frightening. At first I didn't think he'd recognised me but then I knew he did and so I ran." A tear ran down her face and Joey sat on the edge of the bed, putting his arm further around her and wishing he could take away all the pain she'd gone through but wary of how her parents would reach if he tried now, "Since that day, I've avoided him. He wanted to discuss what had happened and I couldn't do it. I couldn't face the truth. And I was scared to tell you. Scared you'd think I was disgusting. Scared that if I told you you'd be so ashamed of what I'd done, you'd throw me out and then I'd truly be on my own. Then this evening, I realised I was in labour and the fear really kicked in. Joey had knocked on the door twice during the day, the second time was just as a contraction hit and I cried out in pain. I'm guessing he heard me through the door and he came into the house through the back and found me in the lounge. He called the ambulance and then delivered his son."

The room fell silent and Joey knew he needed to be the one to break it, "So what happens now?" he asked in general, not really aiming the question at a specific person but a small part of him wanting Lauren to answer.

"What do you want to happen, Lauren?" Max asked.

Lauren stared at her dad for a few seconds before whispering, "I want to raise my son... with his father." Joey squeezed her shoulder with his hand and his other hand rested on hers, cradling their son. "I'll understand if you'd rather we left the square, dad." She added.

"That won't be necessary, Lauren." Tanya said.

"Your mother's right," Max said. He stared at the three of them, "So can I hold my grandson?" he asked.

Joey watched as Lauren passed him to her father and then saw the elder man look at him in fascination, a feeling he shared every time he looked at him too. "Would you like to know his name?" Lauren asked softly. Joey was finally going to get the answer to his question so he nodded quickly along with her parents, "I thought we could call him Bradley Maxwell Branning," She said, looking at Joey as she spoke.

"That sounds like a good name." Joey whispered, hugging her tenderly. He knew from his aunt Carol about Bradley and he wasn't surprised she wanted to call him after him.

"Are you sure, Lauren?" Max asked her, slightly taken aback by what she'd just said.

"Why shouldn't he be named after his uncle and granddad?" Lauren bit her lip after she fell silent and Joey held his breath, staring at her and seeing tears flood her eyes.

"I think your brother would've been very proud. I know I am." Max said as he looked at his grandson, "Welcome to the world Bradley Maxwell Branning." He said, a smile on his face as he doted on his grandson. "You should get some rest," he then said to Lauren and he lay Bradley back in the crib. Both parents said their goodbyes to daughter and grandson, "We'll be back in the morning." Max whispered to her before turning to Joey, "Do you want a lift back to the square, Joey?"

It didn't take long for Joey to reply to his question, "No, I think I'm going to stay here, if that's alright." He knew there was no way he would be willing to leave her side unless she asked him to.

After they'd left Joey turned down the lights so Lauren could get some sleep. "Do you want to talk?" she asked him quietly, knowing there was no avoiding it any longer.

"It can wait till the morning." Joey said, staring at her and brushing his fingers through her hair, hoping to help her drop off to sleep.

"I'd rather do it now. I can't sleep anyway." Joey looked at her closely and he could see she was wide awake and it was obviously bothering her so he nodded. "Can you sit with me?" she asked him softly. As if there was ever any doubt he was going to say no to that request. He longed to be closer to her and he wouldn't miss this opportunity to be with her now. How he hoped this conversation would go the way he wanted. Joey sat next to her and he pulled her against him when she moved to give him space. They sat in silence for quite a while.

"Shall I start?" He eventually asked her when it became apparent she wasn't going to.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I guess I'm a bit overwhelmed by everything that's happened."

"It's okay, you've been through a lot." It was true he couldn't imagine how she'd felt when this all began. He pressed his lips against her forehead, leaving them against her skin while he worked out where to start. It was obvious really; it was the only place to start; right back at the beginning. "That night, in the club, was special to me. I've never met anyone quite like you, Lauren Branning." He hoped she realised how sincere he was about this.

"That's me, one of a kind." She chuckled. Her face turned pink and it reminded him of that night, of when her cheeks were tinged with the same colour after they'd had sex.

Again he knew he was going to have to open himself up to her. He needed to tell her the truth. It was more important than any other moment in his life that he got her to realise how he felt about her, "I wanted to stay with you so much that night and if I'd known I was going to lose my job anyway, I would've done. You intrigued me. You excited me. And the sex was amazing." He stared into her eyes, seeing tears well in them as his hand cupped her face.

"I felt the same. I still do." She said in a whisper and his heart soared. This could really work.

He moved on to the time when he'd seen her again. "When I saw you in the square and Lucy told me your name, I understood your reaction. I was confused about how I felt but after a couple of days I realised I just didn't care about the fact we were related. I wanted to be with you... more than I've ever wanted anything. It was never my intention to stay, I was just coming to get Alice, to take her home. Then I saw you and I couldn't leave."

"I'm sorry I avoided you." She whispered.

He understood. He realised how she must've struggled with everything that had happened. "It's okay. I can understand that you must've been very confused. Your hormones would've been all over the place because of the baby on top of that." He paused and lifted her face so she was looking at him, "How did you manage to hide it from everyone?" This was the one thing he couldn't understand... how no one in that house, none of her close family had realised what was going on.

"It wasn't that difficult really. I wore baggy clothes all of the time. I didn't see anyone, I just stayed in the house so I only had to hide it from the family. I also didn't get that big fortunately." She whispered to him and he could see the despair and loneliness she'd been feeling on her face.

It was time to turn the conversation to happier thoughts... he hoped. "So are you open to us trying this out? Being together, I mean." Why was he struggling to get the words out now? He knew what he wanted to say but he wasn't sure how to get it across to her.

"I think I need a reminder of what I've been missing." She told him with a giggle and it was like seeing her on that first night again.

"That can be arranged..." Joey told her and leant forward, kissing her gently. He wanted to prove to her how he felt with that one action but as soon as his lips touched her it was like going back in time. All the passion from that night returned and they both gasped. Joey groaned into her mouth before reluctantly pulling himself away from her, "We need to stop before I start something I can't finish." And boy, did he want to be able to finish. It had been a very long time. Joey laid on his back, pulling Lauren against him, his hands brushing through her long thick hair. "I'm sorry you had to go through it all on your own," he whispered to her. "I wish I'd known."

"It's okay. It's not your fault." She whispered to him, kissing him softly on the neck, "I'm sorry I kept pushing you away and I'm glad you didn't give up on me today. More than anything I'm glad you were there when I needed you. I don't think I could've done that on my own."

Shortly after that she fell asleep and Joey held her in his arms, watching her as she slept. He couldn't remember a time when he'd been this happy and he wished he could bottle this moment so he would always have it to look back on. He pulled her closer to him, breathing her in as she shifted further into his body. He was in love with her, he didn't doubt it for a second now, would never be able to forget what happened today for as long as he lived. He had a son and he had a girlfriend and if there was any goodness in the world, one day they would be more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. How his life had changed in the space of just a few hours. If he'd had any idea this morning when he woke up that by the time he went to bed again he would be a father, he'd have thought he was going insane. But here he was close to eighteen hours later and that was the case. For the first time in his life, Joey knew what his future held and he was at peace. Until eight months ago he'd never thought that would be possible. That night had been just a glimmer of what his life could be though and now he had it all in the palm of his hand.

*JL*JL*

Bradley woke them, needing a feed after what felt like just minutes to Joey but was in fact a few hours. A nurse helped show Lauren how to feed him and both took to it very well. Joey watched, fascinated as Lauren nursed Bradley, he'd wondered how she would handle motherhood but she seemed to be doing really well. She was a natural at this. He only hoped he would be as natural when it came to fatherhood... it wasn't like he had a stellar role model to follow.

When the nurse left them alone, Joey was aware he'd been caught staring at them both as she teased him about it, "Jealous?" she asked him softly, a slight smirk on her face.

"More than you'll ever know." He breathed, more to himself than to her. It was true, what he would give to be in his son's position now. He'd had a fascination with her chest that night, today, now was only adding to that. "Do you know how beautiful you look when you're doing that?" he told her gently.

"Looking at your face, I can pretty much guess."

"Hey, I'm a healthy young man, these things are on my mind a lot." He smirked at her before blushing at the admission he'd just made.

"Yeah, well just as long as you only keep thinking about it. It's going to be a while before we go there again." Joey knew there was disappointment on his face at her words because it made her laugh, "Joey, I've just pushed a six pound baby from my body, without any drugs might I add, if you really think I've the slightest interest in having sex with you now, you're mistaken."

"I know." He told her softly. "It's just been a while." He admitted before kissing her gently on the temple, "And the sex was amazing." He added with a smirk.

"Joey..." She admonished him and Joey knew he needed to distract himself and quickly.

"Okay, okay." Joey lifted his son from Lauren's arms and pulled him to his shoulder, tapping him gently on the back to wind him as the nurse had instructed him, "I'm obviously just going to be having a few cold showers." He whispered to his son as he walked around the room, holding him.

"Joey..." Lauren told him off.

"What?" he said, unable to look at Lauren.

"Just because we can't have sex, doesn't mean we can't do other things." She whispered and time seemed to stand still for Joey as he absorbed the meaning of her words.

He spun round to face her, "Seriously?" Wow... just wow.

"Yes but not until we're home and settled a bit." She told him, "Till then you're going to have to do what you need for yourself." She waved her hand in his direction, her cheeks reddening slightly as she spoke.

Joey saw her turn on her side, her back now facing him and he turned his attention to his son, murmuring softly to him, "You know Bradley, this is something you're going to have to get used to in the future. There are a few lessons I can give you about women but the first thing you should know is how unfair it is for your mummy to tease daddy like she's doing now." Bradley stared at his face and Joey kissed him on the forehead softly a small smile on his face.

TBC

**A/N2: So what did you think? Let me know in a review. See you tomorrow...**

**How good was tonight's episode...? I started to lose hope at one stage but it came good in the end... If only Lucy hadn't interrupted them.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Just a short chapter today but you can expect more tomorrow.  
**

**Chapter 6.**

The time passed quickly with Lauren and Joey being given pointers on everything from bathing Bradley, changing nappies and how to dress him. Joey felt like he was in a whirl but they were also two of the happiest days of his life. During those days him and Lauren really bonded and started the process of getting to know each other. When he hadn't been at the hospital Joey had been back Albert Square, helping Max and Tanya sort out the house. It was amazing what could be done with a bit of help of family. Joey just hoped Lauren liked it.

In the seeming blink of an eye it was two days later Max's car pulled up outside their house and Joey could tell how nervous Lauren was about what she was coming back to. He'd felt the tension gradually increase as they got closer to home. He knew he needed to prove that, for him at least, things were going to be different now. This was the fresh start he'd been longing for since he'd come to stay in Walford albeit slightly different to how he'd envisaged it being. He was the first person out of the car as it stopped and he saw several people staring in their direction, watching as he ran round to her door and opened it for her, holding his hand out towards her and helping her from the car. He stood protectively by her when she carefully lifted their son from the car, pulling the brand new car seat from its fixtures.

Joey took her hand and when Bradley woke up, letting out a cry at being disturbed, he could see several people turn and look in their direction. Lauren quietly tried to soothe him but Joey wanted to get her away from prying eyes, knowing she would hate the attention they were garnering. "Come on, baby, let's get the both of you inside." Joey murmured to her quietly.

Joey was aware of the moment Lauren saw her two best friends as tension tore through her body, almost pulling her to a standstill. He wanted to be there for her and support her with this and it might also get through to the two of them that he was taken. Yes, it might be petty but he needed to show everyone watching them that Lauren was his and his alone. And, for her friends at least, he was very much hers. Joey helped her up the steps to the front door and held open the door for her. Just before she walked into the house though Joey pulled her against him and kissed her deeply on the mouth, fire igniting between them as it did each time they kissed. Joey could tell Lauren hadn't minded his little show because when she pulled away from him she was smiling. He smiled back at her, brushing her hair back behind her ear. Then she said the three words he'd been longing to hear her say ever since he'd met her and he didn't think he could get any happier than she'd just made him. "I love you," was all she said and it was enough to take his breath away.

Joey guided her into the lounge finding their family gathered around the room. Joey helped her sit on the couch, seeing how overwhelmed she was and knowing she needed time to handle being a mother right now.

Joey stood protectively near his girl and their son as first their uncle Jack spoke to her and then her sister. He heard the soft conversation between the two sisters, watching intently as Lauren dealt with the feelings swirling through her. She'd been struggling with her emotions over the last couple of days but today was the worst she'd been and talking to her sister about what had been a really difficult time for her was quickly becoming too much. Joey moved to her side when the tears began to tumble from her eyes and he hugged her to him, "Don't cry." He whispered to her softly.

"I'm being silly." She breathed against his shirt.

"No you're not." He reassured her, having been told by the nurses that this was completely natural.

"I am. I shouldn't be thinking about the past, I need to think about the future. Our future." She said and Joey was really glad to hear her say those words; to know she still wanted them to explore this future together. Of course the moment was interrupted by Abi, who'd discovered that there was a downside to a little baby... apparently Bradley needed changing. "I'll do it." Joey volunteered, taking him from Abi and going upstairs so he could clean up his son. It didn't take him long, he'd got used to doing this over the last couple of days and while it was normally a far from pleasant experience, it was something he knew he could do for his son and girlfriend.

He heard the doorbell ring but thought nothing of it until he made his way back downstairs. As soon as he carried his son into the lounge he could feel the tension seeping from the room and he saw Lauren's supposed friends crowded round her, giving her grief for what had happened. He could see how their words were affecting Lauren and he wanted to protect her from that. "I think it might be best if you go..." Joey said, as he stood in the doorway, holding his sleeping son in his arms.

"Oh, if it isn't daddy dearest," Lucy sneered at him and Whitney tried to stop her from saying anymore but she was simply unstoppable. "Do you not realise how sick the two of you are?"

"Lucy!" Bianca said from behind the girls. "I agree with Joey. It's time you left, Lucy."

"You can't make me go." Lucy said stubbornly, staring intently at Joey as he held Bradley.

Max appeared at his side, having heard the tail end of the conversation and not liking it one bit, "No but I can," He pretty much growled in her direction. "We don't need your attitude here, Lucy, so I'd like you to leave." Lucy stared at him, "Now!" He snapped.

As soon as Lucy had left Joey moved to Lauren's side, sitting next to her, "Lauren... don't take any notice of what she said, babe." He hugged her tightly, kissing her forehead. He felt her relax against him, leaning on his chest and staring at their son. Joey noticed the silent tears running down her face but said nothing, just wrapping his arm around her shoulders and squeezing her against him. One quick glance at Max was enough for his uncle to work out what was needed.

"Right guys, I think it might be time we leave the new parents be, let them get settled back in. I'm sure you'll all get a chance to hold Bradley over the next week or so. Let's go to the Vic and wet the baby's head."

They all left the room, just Joey, Bradley and Lauren remaining in the lounge. Once they were alone Lauren quickly dissolved into inconsolable tears and Joey tightened his hold on her. "Do you want to go upstairs?" he asked her after a few minutes.

"I just want us to be happy." She said into his shirt and he wished he could erase the last few hours or so.

"Let's go up to our room." He told her gently.

"Our room?"

"Your parents have been sorting some things out while you were in the hospital." He said as he got to his feet and held a hand out towards her. "Come on." He smiled at her, seeing the slight ray of hope appear on her face. He was confident that what he was about to show her would only increase those feelings. He walked up the stairs and pushed open the door to her old room, revealing how the room had been changed for their small little family. There was now a double bed, a crib and a rocking chair in the room along with cupboards and a wardrobe and it had been decorated in a pale cream colour.

"Where's Abi going to sleep?" Lauren quickly asked.

"She's staying with your nan for a few days until things are sorted out." He said. That seemed to upset her more than he'd intended it to and he stepped closer to her, putting Bradley down in the crib before he reached her.

"She's left the house?" Lauren sobbed.

"It's just for a few days." He said gently, holding her against him and brushing his hands through her hair. He would never get tired of doing this with her.

"I don't understand..." She breathed.

"Abi's getting Oscar's room. He's going in with your parents for the time being and they're going to sort out some more usable space in the house that they'll be able to change into a room for Oscar." She seemed to relax once she heard his words and he kissed the top of her head, wrapping his arms around her and tightening his hold on her. He wanted her to feel safe and loved and he was more than willing to do whatever it took to make her happy and to let her know she could rely on him.

TBC

**A/N2: Does this seem any different from Joey's POV? I hope so. Let me know what you think.**

**Loved tonight's episodes - was good to see Joey getting emotional. Old trout face is doing my head in though...**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So here is the first of today's chapters. Yes, there will be another one later tonight. This is the last chapter is little unchanged from One Night. After this, we venture into realms unknown. Enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 7.**

A short while later Joey and Lauren were lying on their bed while Bradley slept in his crib. "I love you, Lauren Branning." He breathed into her hair. It was the first time he'd said it to her and he knew now was the right moment. It felt natural to say it to her.

"I love you too." She murmured back to him.

Joey shifted on the bed, leaning on his elbow and staring down at his girlfriend. "I never thought that one day I'd be a father." He said, his fingers grazing the soft skin of her beautiful face, her cheeks darkening as he stared at her intensely.

"Do you regret it?" she whispered and he wondered what she thought he would say.

"God, no." He reassured her. "I don't know what I was expecting when I walked into your lounge the other night." Lauren edged closer to him as he spoke, "I had no idea you were pregnant but when I walked in and I saw you, I knew I was where I needed to be."

"You never even asked if he was yours..." she whispered.

She was right he hadn't and it hadn't even crossed his mind that there was a chance he might not be. "I know you, Lauren." He paused when he realised the lie in his words, "Alright I don't know you as well as I'd like to but I knew he was mine because I'd seen how you'd reacted to me since I came to the square. I knew you weren't that kind of girl. It never crossed my mind to doubt he was mine. Looking at him now, he looks like me and you." And it was true, as each day passed he could see different bits of each of them in his son; it was something that filled Joey with joy more than he knew it could.

"Weren't you scared when you found me that night?" she asked him softly.

He couldn't lie to her about this. If nothing else, she'd know it so there was little point. "Yes but it wouldn't have been any benefit to you for me to show that."

"You gave me the strength I needed when I had so little left." She breathed, love shining from her eyes as she looked up at him.

He was glad she felt that way because he'd felt far from strong in those few minutes. "I was worried when I first saw you. I had no idea what to do to help you." He leant forward and kissed the tip of her nose, "It's one of the reasons I called the ambulance. I couldn't do it on my own and I needed to make sure you were okay and looked after. That our child was okay." He brushed his hand under her top, his fingertips grazing the soft skin beneath and resting on where their child had formed. "When I saw the head appearing, it was as if everything in the world suddenly made sense. I guess that sounds soppy." Suddenly he felt shy about admitting these things to her.

"It doesn't, Joey. It sounds just like how I feel." She said and it was what he really needed to hear.

"When he was born and I held him in my hands before passing him to you, I wanted you to know how much I love you." He was opening up to her now and it was scary for him to do this, "I wanted to be able to tell you how I felt but I was scared. I was worried you'd push me away. That I'd lose both of you."

"I'd never keep you out of Bradley's life, Joey." She whispered and while that was great to hear it wasn't exactly what he wanted her to say. "I'm not sure I could keep you out of my life either. I know there's still a lot we need to learn about each other and I'm sure we'll face plenty of hurdles but I can't see a future where I'm not with you." He was reassured by her words. She'd said what he needed her to say.

"That's good to know, baby." He said before kissing her gently. "I wish I could show you how much I love you right now..." he murmured into her ear as he pressed a kiss against her skin. His hands were already wandering over her body and it wouldn't take much encouragement from her to take this further.

Unfortunately she wasn't going to be encouraging him any time in their short-term future, "Joey, I'm sure we've had this discussion already." She stared into his eyes, "Anyway, we're supposed to avoid anything like that until he's at least six weeks old." He couldn't help the pout that formed on his lips but it faded when she lifted her head and kissed him. "It's nice to know you find me desirable though." She whispered gently which only reignited his desire.

"Now you're teasing me..." he whispered, his mouth meeting hers in a heated kiss that would've spiralled out of control if it wasn't for his much more sensible girlfriend.

"Sorry." She said in a whisper.

"It's okay." He said as he kissed her again. The passion built between them, the months of abstinence for them both climbing to a crescendo because despite his words it really wasn't okay. He wanted this, he needed this. He wanted to feel the moment from that night with her again.

It was then the turn of his son to act as a cock blocker, as Joey found out the ultimate mood killer was a screaming child and Lauren chuckled as she rose from the bed, "Saved by the baby." Joey watched as she picked up Bradley, "It's okay, mummy's here." She told him softly as she rocked him in her arms, moving around the room, talking to him softly in an effort to calm him.

Joey watched her as he lay on their bed. She was stunning. She was magnificent. She was his. "Lauren..." he said, startling her slightly.

"Yeah...?" she whispered as Bradley had finally gone quiet.

He hadn't planned what he was going to say. In fact the next words from his mouth were as much a surprise for him as they were for her to hear. "Marry me." He said, holding his breath once he'd spoke them, knowing he'd followed his heart when he'd said them and hoping she knew she was everything to him.

"Joey, we barely know each other." She actually giggled when she said those words and it was like a knife to the heart. He had to get out of there. He needed air and to try and retain some semblance of his manhood. He moved blindly towards the door and almost ran down the stairs. He grabbed his coat and walked out of the front door, letting it slam shut behind him, ignoring her calls for him. He couldn't be near her now. He couldn't handle hearing the rejection from her... it hurt too much.

TBC

**A/N2: So there you go. What did you think? Send me a review.**

**I'm currently writing another chapter for this story which will come later, not long before the end. Just another gap I had to fill. I also wrote ten pages towards another story yesterday. I can't seem to stop writing Joey/Lauren stories at the moment...  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry I'm late I know... I'll reply to reviews for this chapter and the last one tomorrow. I need to go to bed. :-)  
**

**Anyway, this morning this chapter was actually two chapters but I decided to merge the two of them and iron out the kinks. There's one very small bit which was covered in One Night, the rest of the chapter is new stuff. Oh and if you haven't read One Night, about halfway through the chapter won't make much sense to you as Joey's conversation with Max was in that story not this one... **

**Enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 8.**

An hour after Joey left the front door of number 5 Albert Square opened and closed and Lauren moved quickly to the top of the stairs, hoping to see Joey but instead finding her father.

"Lauren?" he asked in concern as she fell to sit on the top stair, obviously upset about something. "What is it, babe? Is something wrong with Bradley?" He moved to where she sat and took her into his arms.

"He left..." she sobbed, feeling her father's arms tightening around her.

"Who left?"

"Joey..." she cried, her heart broken.

Max was surprised by what she'd said. Over the last couple of days he'd seen the love on his nephew's face each time Joey looked at his daughter or grandson, or even so much as spoke about either of them. Something had obviously happened in the last couple of hours and he needed to understand what that was before he leapt to any judgments against his nephew. Knowing his daughter as he did, he knew this wasn't necessarily Joey's fault. "Lauren... tell me what happened." He sat for a couple of minutes, gently rocking Lauren in his arms as she sobbed against him.

Finally she was calm enough to speak to him, "He asked me to marry him." She whispered.

Max wasn't as shocked as he thought he would be to hear her say that. He'd known ever since the two of them told him about their relationship that it was going to be on the cards at some stage. Admittedly this was sooner than he'd anticipated it happening but he'd always known it would happen eventually. "What did you say?" he asked her softly, wondering how that question could end up with Joey leaving. He guessed Lauren hadn't responded as Joey had wanted and Max just hoped the situation was salvageable. Even in the space of two days, since finding out about the two of them, Max could clearly see there was something special between the two youngsters. And the more he saw, the more he realised it was the right decision to let them be together. Their love for each other was too precious for them to risk losing it. Not everyone in life was as lucky as they'd been to find love together at such a young age and he knew that from his own personal experience. He wouldn't let them throw it away like he himself had so many times.

Apparently his question was the wrong thing to ask her because she dissolved against him again, "I laughed..." she sobbed.

"Do you love him, Lauren?" Max asked her, knowing her answer but needing her to acknowledge it. She nodded her head, no hesitation in her answer. "Tell me why you laughed when he asked you? Talk to me, sweetheart."

"I was surprised." She whispered. "I didn't expect him to ask me. I thought he was messing around." She pulled away from her father, devastation written across her face, "Then I saw his face and I knew he wasn't joking but it was too late. He was walking out of the room. He wouldn't come back when I called out for him." She dropped her head into her hands, "Have I lost him forever, dad? I can't lose him. I've only just found him again. I've never felt this way about anyone else before. I need him. I can't do this without him."

"I think the two of you need to talk before you make any rash decisions, babe. I'm sure he just needs some space to sort out how he's feeling. I'm sure your reaction, however unintentional, will have hurt him."

"When do you think he'll come back?" She asked him softly.

"When he's ready, he'll be back, Lauren. Trust me." Max smiled at his daughter, "He won't leave you on your own, I swear. He loves you both far too much to leave." She smiled at his words.

"I just want him to love me, dad. I want him to be here for me." She whispered to him.

"He does and he will for a long time yet." He promised her, "You should go and get some rest. You need to look after yourself now, Lauren. Bradley's relying on you."

"And Joey..." she added. Whatever happened between the two of them, Joey would always be a father to Bradley. She knew it in her heart. She just hoped she hadn't ruined the only other decent thing in her life.

"And Joey." Max confirmed with a nod of his head. He helped Lauren to her feet and watched as she walked back into their room. He turned and went back downstairs. He knew he needed to have a chat with his nephew when he came back and he had no doubt Joey would be back in the next couple of hours.

*JL*JL*

Joey fell in love with Lauren all over again when he pushed open the door and saw Lauren sitting in the rocking chair, feeding Bradley. It was still a sight that took his breath away and he wondered if he would ever get used to it, part of him hoped not. The way her face lit up when she saw him just made him feel even guiltier for what he'd done a couple of hours earlier. "I'm sorry for running..." he murmured.

"It's okay." She said, as she looked back at Bradley.

Joey wanted to believe her but he knew it wasn't as simple as that. They needed to talk about this. This wasn't something they could avoid for months like they'd done the last time there was a problem between them. "No, it's not." He said as he walked over and crouched beside the rocking chair.

She smiled at him, a perfect look of calm on her face as she spoke to him, "Joey, I've spent the last three months running away from you, it would be a bit hypocritical for me to hold it against you when you do it too." Their time apart this evening had given her time to think, her thoughts had become clearer and she knew she'd forgive him pretty much anything at the moment anyway. She loved him and that was what was more important than anything else in the end. Lauren winked at him, her tone turning lighter, despite the heaviness of the subject matter, "Maybe it's a Branning thing." She said with a smirk.

Hearing her say his words back to him meant something to Joey. He'd thought she hadn't been listening that day but obviously he was wrong. So having her say that was something he saw as a good sign. Joey took a deep breath, trying to centre himself before he spoke again. Joey looked at his son who always had that affect on him and was soon centred, able to move on to a different subject rather than dwell on earlier events, "Has he been okay?" he asked.

She smiled slightly, "He's fine. He's just been sleeping and eating. Oh, and pooping." Her face screwed up at her last remark. Joey really knew she hated dealing with the dirty nappies.

Joey smiled, relieved there was something he could do for her, "Guess I'm on nappy duty tomorrow then... to make up for it."

"You know I'm going to hold you to that, don't you." She said; a knowing smile on her face.

"Good." He answered her smile with one of his own. "Do you need me to do anything?"

"I left a glass of water over by the bed. Can you pass it to me?"

"Sure." He turned and walked over to the bed.

"I was going to say yes." She whispered as he moved away from her.

Joey froze unsure if he'd heard her correctly. "You were?" His voice sounded unsure, even to his own ears and he so wished he could be stronger about this. The problem was this meant everything to him. Having her and Bradley in his life was... well, it was his life. It was as simple as that.

"Yep." She whispered.

He picked up the glass and walked back to her, passing it to her, looking at her face. "I'll bear that in mind... for future reference." He said, trying to keep the conversation light, not wanting to push her too far.

"Good." She said, smiling down at her son as she continued to feed him.

*JL*JL*

Joey woke on their first morning home with a new resolution on his mind. He took his uncle's words from the previous night to heart and he knew he needed to spend time with Lauren if they were going to make this work. And Joey was determined they were going to do this. They needed to get to know each other. They needed to learn every little thing about each other, not just how amazing the sex would be.

He got up and left a sleeping Lauren lying in the bed, brushing her hair back off her face and looking at her tenderly before moving away from her. Over at the crib he found Bradley staring up at him so Joey lifted him from the crib and held him against his bare chest. He chuckled softly as he felt his son snuggle against his body and he kissed him affectionately on the forehead. Being as quiet as he could, he left their room, taking his son down to the kitchen. It was time for Joey to do something nice for his son's mummy.

As he opened the door he found Tanya standing at the kitchen sink and she turned to look at them both, a smile brightening her face when she saw Bradley. "How is he?" she asked him gently.

"Okay. He just woke up so I thought I'd bring him downstairs and let Lauren get some more rest." He looked at his son and smiled as he saw him staring at him. "Do you think you could help me make some food for Lauren? I want to do something nice for her." He asked her shyly.

"Why don't I take Bradley from you while you get some toast and juice for her?" Tanya said with a smile. "You should probably take a glass of water up to her as well, this little one is going to need feeding soon, aren't you baby boy?" She smiled at her grandson, jostling him in her arms as Joey passed him to her. She stared at her grandson in wonder.

Joey busied himself with getting breakfast ready for his girlfriend. He walked over to the fridge and poured her a glass of juice. He quickly did the same with a glass of water, adding some ice so it was nice and cold for Lauren. The door opened and Joey looked up hoping it wasn't Lauren. He really wanted to surprise her. It wasn't her though, it was Max. And something told him he had bad news. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I thought I should let you know. I just found out Derek is coming home this afternoon." His uncle's expression was wary, unsure how his nephew would react to this statement but his words were like a sledgehammer to Joey's gut and he didn't know what to say. Derek had been away for almost a week and Joey knew there would be serious repercussions to what had happened in his absence. Joey knew his return would only spell trouble for his relationship with Lauren as he could guarantee that Derek wouldn't be as understanding as his aunt and uncle had been. He just hoped it didn't lead to him losing her or his son.

"Joey, we'll be there with you." Tanya said to him softly. Over the last few days she'd seen something in Joey that tore at her heart. She knew what it felt like to grow up with a parent who didn't seem to care about you at all, having experienced that with her mother. "You don't have to face him about this on your own." She told him, watching his face and seeing a small flicker of emotion before a mask fell, cutting himself off from them both. Tanya was sad to see him become more remote, having grown used to seeing him really open up to both her and her husband as they prepared for Lauren and Bradley's return to the square. It wasn't a huge surprise though as it was a well known fact that Derek had very little time for his son. His whole focus was on Alice, making all the effort with her and rejecting his son entirely. She knew a lot of that was as much her nephew's fault as it was Derek's but she had an inkling that a lot of the problems between them stemmed back to when Joey had been just a small boy.

"That would be great." He said but his voice was distant. He turned back to the tray he was preparing and silently continued to finish it. It was something he could focus on, something that could distract him from thinking about how he felt about his father coming back to the square. He lifted the tray after putting a few slices of toast on a plate and adding some jam and butter to the tray, "Are you okay to have to Bradley for a little while?" He asked Tanya softly, unable to meet her eyes.

"Of course, Joey." She said, smiling at him but her concern rose as she watched him leave the room. His whole stature was tense and she could see his mind was somewhere else entirely. Max held the door open for him then turned to his wife. "He's really worried about Derek coming back." She whispered unnecessarily to her husband.

"I can't say I blame him." Max admitted, "We both know what Derek is going to say about their relationship."

Tanya looked at the product of their relationship that she held in her arms and pressed her lips against the crown of Bradley's head, "We can't let him tear them apart, Max. We can't let him do that to them or to this little one."

Max stepped towards her and hugged her gently, smiling down at the newborn child in her arms, "We won't babe." Max was pleased the family had had something good happen to it for the first time in a long time and as far as he was concerned Bradley was certainly something for them all to be celebrating. It most definitely wasn't something to be torn apart at the earliest opportunity and Derek was much more likely to opt for the second option. Max knew how much Derek despised his son, he'd witnessed it many times over the three months Joey had been in Walford. At the time, Max hadn't thought much about it, he hadn't really known Joey then, had only seen the attitude towards his father so blamed him as much as Derek for the bad feeling between them. Now though, he knew Joey a little better and he could see he wasn't all bravado and cocky charm like he'd first thought. There was a vulnerability to him Max was sure Joey rarely displayed to anyone and most definitely not his father. As a result of this Max had begun to wonder if there was more to their tempestuous relationship than he'd previously seen. Max was determined he would do anything to protect his daughter and grandson from the darker side of his eldest brother so he made the decision there and then to be there for Joey throughout this. Max stared at Bradley, seeing the features of his daughter and nephew emerging all the time on his beautiful face and he wondered if Derek would be able to resist his charm when he saw him. Unfortunately he was fairly sure Bradley would never get to experience a relationship with his other grandfather and he just hoped Joey didn't take it too hard when the inevitable happened.

TBC

**A/N2: For those who haven't realised this yet, I have a small soft spot for Max and generally in my stories he always steps up as a father. I think this chapter epitomizes that... Anyway any ideas what might be coming next...**

**Send me a review... you know you want to. Let me know what you think. Is there anything you particularly want to see?**

**I'll be back tomorrow!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So here's chapter 9. It's all new stuff so I hope you like it. Let me know what you think... I'm sure you won't be surprised that this chapter deals with Derek after how the last chapter ended.  
**

**Chapter 9.**

Joey nudged open the door and saw Lauren stirring on the bed as he moved towards her, "Morning, babe." He said to her gently, placing the tray on the bedside table.

"Is it morning already?" she asked him softly.

"Yeah." He smiled at her. "I brought you breakfast." He told her, kneeling beside the bed and kissing her forehead tenderly. She sat upright suddenly, almost sending the tray flying with her hand as she turned to the crib, seeing it was empty, a look of panic flooding her face. "He's downstairs with your mum," he reassured her, brushing his hand down her face. "I took him with me as I didn't want him to disturb you. She said she'd look after him while I brought you some food." Lauren blushed and looked at him properly. He looked really hot in just his joggers. His chest was bare and she could see the muscle definition that she hadn't ever really seen before, it sent heat throughout her body.

She pulled his mouth towards her and kissed him deeply, "Morning..." she said to him softly as she released him. Her hands brushed through his hair bringing a smile to his face.

"You should eat..." he told her gently as he pulled away from her.

"Last night I couldn't stop you from trying something with me and now you're not interested?" She lifted her eyebrow and tilted her head as she studied his face. "What's going on, Joey?"

"Derek's coming back today." He said, shifting so he was sitting on the bed beside her and he ended up staring at the carpet rather than at her.

"It's going to be okay, Joey." She said as she leant against him, "He can't do anything to change us. This is it now. Nothing is going to change that, I promise." She whispered to him softly.

Unfortunately Joey knew Derek much better than his girlfriend and knew just what he'd be prepared to do in order to cause his son pain. It was a trait Joey hoped he hadn't inherited from Derek to pass on to his own son. "I wouldn't be so sure of that, Lauren." Joey said and despite anything she said to him over the next couple of hours, she couldn't change his mind as he gradually sank into despondency.

*JL*JL*

Jack had joined his brother and sister-in-law at their house after Max sent him a text earlier this morning, "You're sure he's coming back today?" he asked as they sat in the lounge.

"Yes Jack. He called me this morning." Max said, sighing as he looked out of the window, watching the square. He knew it wouldn't be long until their eldest brother returned and created havoc for the family. Nothing was ever easy when Derek was involved and his relationship with Joey had been problematic ever since his arrival on the square three months earlier. Max couldn't let this spoil anything for his daughter. Max knew he was going to have to stand up to his brother to protect his daughter and nephew; to protect his grandson. It was the right thing to do. It was what he needed to do. And for his family he would do it.

"Does Joey know?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. As soon as I'd finished speaking to Derek I came home and told him." Max said, "He's been upstairs with Lauren ever since. They didn't mention anything when Tanya took Bradley back up to them when he needed feeding. We haven't heard anything from them since." Even as he said it he could hear movement on the stairs and Lauren walked into the room, holding Bradley and pulling Joey behind her.

"Hi uncle Jack." She said brightly, as if nothing was wrong.

Max wondered if Joey hadn't told her but beneath the light exterior she was portraying he could see the worry colouring her eyes and he knew she was aware of what was about to happen. Joey was the picture of tension and when she forced him to sit on the couch she sat next to him, smiling slightly as Joey put his arm around her and pulled her close. Max watched as Joey's hand brushed under her T-shirt and settled underneath. Joey turned his head into her neck and Max could see she wanted to comfort him. "Let me," he said, taking Bradley from her and giving them both space. Joey needed her now and she didn't need to worry about their son for the time being. Lauren focused her attention on her boyfriend, hugging him tightly and brushing her arms up and down his back.

The family sat in silence, awaiting the inevitable trouble. The doorbell rang, causing Joey to freeze and Jack went to answer it. It wasn't who they were expecting it to be. Alice stood on the doorstep. "Hi, uncle Jack. Have you seen Joey around? I got back from visiting mum this morning and I can't find him anywhere." She asked. "I was wondering if he'd been here."

"Come in Alice," Jack said, smiling at her.

She walked into the room and saw Joey and Lauren wrapped up in each other. "Joey?" She asked hesitantly.

"Hi, Al." Joey said, looking at his sister shyly.

"What's going on?"

"Some things changed while you went at mum's..." he told her gently, suddenly unsure how to break this news to her.

"I can see that." She replied, "Are you going to tell me about it?" She asked as she stared at Joey and Lauren's entwined hands. At that moment Bradley started to cry and Lauren got to her feet, regrettably pulling away from Joey and going over to her dad, retrieving her son and holding him against her body. "Whose baby is that?" Alice asked, now thoroughly confused by what she was seeing.

Lauren turned to face her cousin, her face reddening as she looked at her. "He's mine. I had him four days ago." She whispered.

"Oh." Alice said. "I hadn't realised you were pregnant..." she said.

Joey watched the interaction between his girlfriend and his sister and took a deep breath. It was time to tell his sister everything. "He's mine too, Al." He said softly and Alice looked at him sharply.

"But..."

"Lauren and I are together." He told her, staring her in the eye.

"You've only known her three months." She spluttered.

"I met her eight months ago. I didn't know who she was but I knew how I felt about her." Joey said, "I only found out we were related when I arrived on the square."

"She's the reason you lost your job at that club?" She asked as she put two and two together.

Joey smiled at her, "Yeah." He glanced at Lauren, seeing the love on her face. "I love her and Bradley." He said softly. "They are my life now."

Alice looked at her brother and for the first time she saw how much he'd changed in the few days she'd been away from the square. He'd grown up and she realised she was proud of him. The last few months must have been difficult for both of them. She turned to Lauren, "Do you love him too?" She asked her, needing to check with her cousin. She didn't want her brother to get hurt.

"More than anything." Lauren replied with a gentle smile.

"Okay," she said, smiling at her in return. "Can I hold my nephew?" she asked, "I mean, he is still my nephew right?" She looked at Joey for confirmation.

"He's still your nephew," he said, smiling and getting to his feet and hugging her before Lauren passed their son to her then returning to Joey's arms.

"Hi Bradley." She greeted him with a smile, "Aren't you a cutie?" She giggled. "Although looking at who your mummy and daddy are, I guess that's not a huge surprise." The family all laughed at what she'd said and it broke some of the tension in the room.

"Isn't this sweet?" A voice said from the doorway of the room, the tension reappearing as soon as he spoke and Joey spun round to face his father. "What a touching moment... one for the family album, surely." He sneered.

"What do you want, Derek?" Joey said.

"Well, Carol was just telling me all your good news, Joseph." He managed to say those last words as if there was something distasteful in his mouth. Joey moved to stand in front of Lauren, a barrier between her and his father. Jack and Max both got to their feet and stepped closer to their nephew. Derek turned his attention to Max, surprised to see him allowing their relationship, "You're really going to let this go on?" He asked him incredulous that his brother was willing to accept this.

"Derek, they love each other." Max said to him softly, "And there's a child to think about now. A child who deserves to be with both his parents."

"IT'S WRONG!" Derek yelled, "IT'S DISGUSTING." He added.

The noise he was creating made Bradley start to cry, distracting both his parents briefly. Tanya took her grandson from Alice and tried to comfort him, knowing that at the moment Lauren had to focus on Joey and not her son. Tanya knew this would be tearing Joey apart, seeing his dad's reaction to the relationship he had with his cousin; something he held so sacred. She pulled Bradley closer to her body, brushing her hand down his back, trying to quieten him; a seemingly impossible task she realised.

Jack reached for his brother, trying to calm him down, "Derek, don't do this." He said. "They didn't know they were cousins when this happened." He reasoned.

"They know now though, don't they?" Derek protested, "And he's willing to let it carry on under his roof?" He said, waving his hand in Max's direction. He looked outraged that Max would allow his son and his niece to be with each other. It was sinful.

"It's my house and my family..." Max explained, knowing there were no way Derek would ever understand.

Derek stood tall and pointed his finger at Max, his next words much harsher, "As head of this family, I forbid you from letting them be together. They need to be kept apart, it's the only way we can forget this ever happened." Derek said furiously. His son was not going to bring this shame on their good family name.

"But dad," Alice said gently, "What about your grandson?" She said, close to tears after hearing her father rant about her brother and cousin like he was. Suddenly she wasn't so sure Joey had been wrong about him after all.

"That abomination is no grandson of mine!" He cried out, an evil sneer on his face as he waved his arm towards Tanya and Bradley.

That was as much as Joey was prepared to listen to. He could feel Lauren shaking against his back and he wasn't going to let his father hurt her any further. He wasn't going to allow Derek to hurt his son. Joey stepped forward, lifting his hand as he did so and grabbing Derek by the collar of his shirt. When he stood at his full height, he towered above Derek and he now used that to his full advantage. It appeared the hours he'd spent in the gym over the last few months were now working in his favour as he nearly lifted Derek off his feet as he stepped up close to him. "You're right, Derek. Bradley isn't your grandson." He said, his voice deceptively calm despite the emotion behind them, "You know why I know this?" He asked, not expecting an answer from him because he spoke again before Derek could even open his mouth, "I know that because you aren't my father. And you never will be. I don't care what it says on my birth certificate. You have never been anything other than a sperm donor as far as I am concerned and I don't need you in my life. I never have and that certainly isn't going to change now. I don't want you anywhere near my son; he doesn't need someone like you in his life. He only needs people who are going to love him so why don't you do us all a favour and leave?"

Derek glared at him but said nothing in response. Joey could hear Alice sobbing behind him but it was only when he felt Lauren's hand settle on his back that he released his grip on Derek. Derek took a step back from his son and looked at the assembled family as he straightened his tie and brushed his hand through his hair. "I think Joey has a point, Del." Max said, his voice hard and unmoving as he stepped forward and encouraged Derek to leave the room.

"Maxy," Derek said, knowing he could get his brother to agree to anything if he wanted him to. "You can't surely agree with my son about this? You know I'm right. What they've been doing is wrong, you know it as well as I do."

"Del, I think its best you leave now." Max said firmly. "Joey's right, you're not wanted here." Derek gasped at the words his brother was saying. "And no, I don't agree with you. All I care about is that my daughter is happy."

"Your daughter is a dirty little..."

Max stepped forward and shoved Derek firmly back against the wall, his arm pressing on his throat, "For your own sake, you'd better not finish that statement." He growled at him. Joey appeared at the door, gaining Max's attention, "It's okay, son. I've got this." He said. Joey stared at him before turning and walking back into the room.

"Oh, its son now, is it?" Derek snarled.

"It will be soon enough." Max said, smiling when he saw the penny drop on his brother's face. "You need to leave, Derek." Max said more harshly, "And I don't just mean this house. Joey's right, we don't want you here. None of us do. Not me, Tanya, Jack, Joey, Alice, Lauren... none of us."

"I'm not sure Carol will agree with that sentiment."

"You really think she'll take your side when I tell her how you called her great-nephew an abomination?" Max asked him, knowing his words would cause Derek more pain. "You should've seen the look on her face when she first saw him. She has no problem with Joey and Lauren being together, so what makes you think she'd agree with you?" Max pushed him back against the wall when he began to struggle, then released him, standing close enough to still be threatening.

Once more Derek straightened himself up, trying to regain his composure. This wasn't going as he'd expected it to. When he first came over here he'd thought this would be the opportunity to finally be rid of Joey, to rid himself of the son who'd never respected him. "Alice, darling, it's time to go." He called out, not for a second believing his beloved daughter would push him away, despite Max including her in his list.

Alice stepped into the hallway, her arms folded across her chest. Jack came to stand behind her, a hand resting on her shoulder as a sign of support, "I'm not going anywhere, dad." She whispered. "I'm right where I need to be."

Derek stared at her, seeing the same look of determination on her face that his son usually wore and he knew he'd lost. "Fine." He said in a steely voice. "Don't come running back to me when you realise this was a mistake." He told her, turning and sweeping out of the house without a backward glance.

Max stood on the doorstep and watched as Derek stormed back to the house he shared with Carol, Bianca and the kids. He was still standing there when Derek slammed back out of the house no more than ten minutes later, getting into his car and screeching out of the square, hopefully for good. Max closed the door and walked back into the house, finding several members of his family in turmoil after what had just happened.

His first concern was his daughter and he watched as she hugged Joey to her tightly. She kissed his forehead tenderly and it was the undoing of his nephew, his body collapsing against hers. Max could hear Joey apologising over and over for the things Derek said about her and Bradley and it was this that made Max move over to them, needing to try to repair the damage caused. He brushed his hand through Lauren's hair, seeing her look at his face with tears in her eyes. He placed his hand gently on Joey's back, "Son, you have nothing to apologise for. Derek will never change his attitude about this; he was always going to react in the same way. We knew that before he even walked through the door. Don't let anything he said get to you, Joey. Bradley is better off not having him in his life. We all are."

Joey was silent for several minutes and Max thought everything was okay. Then Joey turned his head and looked into his eyes and he knew things were far from alright, "What if I mess up like he did?" he whispered. "How do I stop myself from becoming the father he was?"

"No father is perfect, Joey. I should know, I've made my fair share of mistakes. You've grown up knowing how a father shouldn't be, use that knowledge to guide you as Bradley grows up."

"Kind of like, 'what wouldn't Derek do?'" Lauren suggested with a smile at her father and Joey chuckled softly, pleased to see Lauren wasn't as affected by his father's words as he'd been concerned about.

"Now I think there's a little boy over there who could do with a hug from his daddy," Max suggested gently, seeing Tanya still trying to console a very fraught newborn who appeared to be picking up on the tension in the room; especially that of his parents.

Lauren rescued her mother from her son and walked back towards Joey, sitting on his lap as they both comforted their son. Max walked away from them, giving the two of them some privacy. "You know, I'm really proud of you, Max Branning." Tanya said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest, both of them watching mother and father interact with their child. "Do you think they'll be okay?" she asked him softly.

"Yeah, I think they will. They love each other and now that Derek has gone, there's nothing standing in their way."

"You really think he won't come back?"

"He won't." Max said, kissing his wife softly. "He's gone for good."

TBC

**A/N2: So I tried to lighten the tone of this by bringing Alice into it too and I hope it worked. Send me a review and let me know what you thought. I hope to post the next chapter later today.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: So next chapter up. We go back to one chapter a day from tomorrow and the story will conclude this week. Enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 10.**

Joey smiled as he woke, feeling his beautiful girlfriend in his arms as she was most mornings. It was Christmas Eve and Joey was determined to make this a Christmas to remember. Lauren shifted in his arms, rolling over to face him as she opened her eyes, "Morning, babe." He said to her gently.

"He only woke up once last night." She said softly, looking at the crib and seeing their son still asleep.

"I know." Joey said. He could see the concern on her face, she was already expecting there to be something wrong, "It's fine, Lauren. You don't need to worry so much."

"I just get scared that something bad will happen to him." She whispered.

Joey lifted her hand from his chest and kissed her knuckles softly. "Nothing bad will happen to Bradley. Not if I can help it. I won't let it." He promised her, the fingers of his other hand brushing through her hair.

They lay in silence, both of them watching Bradley as he slept. "You know what day it is today, don't you?" Lauren said suddenly.

"No." Joey murmured.

She shifted slightly, moving so she straddled his legs, "It's six weeks today." She said, a small smile on her face as she looked down at him.

"It is?" He asked, surprised by her revelation.

"Yes, baby." She grinned at him.

"Does that mean you might be up for a little...?" his words drifted off when he couldn't think how to finish the sentence without sounding crude. This wasn't just about sex to Joey; it was much more than that. It was about showing he loved her.

"Well, it would be a shame to waste the fact that Bradley is asleep." She said softly.

Joey stared at her, his heart beating wildly in his chest. Surely she wasn't saying they could be together again. He'd given up hope of this ever happening. It had seemed a long six weeks for him and an even longer eight months beforehand. He'd quickly grown pretty fed up of relieving himself in the shower and he didn't like to ask Lauren to help him out, despite what she'd suggested just after Bradley was born.

Lauren watched his face, seeing the mixture of emotions visible. She could see she'd thrown him slightly and she decided maybe she should take matters into her own hand, so to speak. She leant forward and kissed him on the mouth, her tongue licking at his lips until he opened his mouth and she brushed her tongue against his. As slowly as she could, trying not to draw his attention she moved her hand down to cup him in his pants. She felt him freeze as her fingers squeezed him and she smiled against his mouth. She kissed across his face, moving until she could whisper in his ear, "Are you going to join me?" she breathed in his ear.

"Lauren," he gasped.

"Joey... I think we've waited long enough for this." She sat up, staring down at his wide eyes. "When I met you that first night I thought you were some kind of Greek God. Then we had this most amazing sex and I felt like I was in heaven." She told him softly, her eyes shining as she stared at him. Her words echoed his own thoughts about that night so closely he smiled at her. "I want you to show me again what that was like." She said then leant forward again so her mouth was barely millimetres from his, "Take me to heaven, Joey." She repeated, pressing her hips against his growing erection.

Joey came to life as she finished speaking. He rolled them over so he was above her and stared into her eyes. "God, I love you Lauren." He said, feeling his body react to his proximity to her. Usually this would cause him embarrassment, especially as he was previously unable to follow through and give her some pleasure. He slowly lifted the T-shirt of his she slept in up her body and soon it was being pulled over her head. He took in her figure, loving the sight of her fuller breasts. Since Bradley had been born, Lauren had generally kept herself covered, hidden from sight so apart from the few times when she'd fed their son in front of him, Joey hadn't had the opportunity to see them properly. Joey had seen how over the last few weeks Lauren had become quite self-conscious of how she looked so when Joey spoke again he could see the disbelief on her face, "You're so beautiful, babe." He kissed her neck, sucking gently on her skin and leaving a small mark when he pulled away, "I mean it, honey. You've never looked more beautiful to me than you do now."

"Joey, I'm nowhere near what I was like when I met you. You don't need to pretend. I know I'm not the same." She murmured, her voice breaking slightly at what she said. She couldn't even look him in the eye and he only wished to reassure her; all previous thoughts were gone in an instant.

"Lauren, I mean it." He said, lifting her chin so he could meet her eyes. "Yes, you were stunning on that first night but I never got to see you properly then. We weren't exactly in a place where we could take our time with it, it was all too much of a rush for me to really take the time to admire the scenery." She blushed at his words, still not sure if she believed him completely but she kind of liked the intensity of his eyes as they gradually lowered from her face. "Even since we've got back together I've never seen you."

"Because I don't look the way I want to..." she said softly.

"Believe me, babe. You look amazing." He said, his eyes rising to meet hers again.

"You're just saying that because you're horny." She said, tears filling her eyes.

"I'm saying this because I love you." He whispered, "I always have and I always will." His hand crept up her body until he cupped a breast. "They're bigger than they were," he said, smiling at her tenderly.

"They're huge and ugly." She said, pushing his hand away.

He moved his hand back to her, "They're beautiful," he said, his voice a little firmer. "You're beautiful, babe. I mean it, you really are." His hands moved down to the underwear she was wearing and he slowly pushed them down her legs. He could see she was struggling to cope with this and he knew, despite the way he felt, he wasn't going to force her to do this, "If you're really not ready for this... we don't have to do this today. We can do this another time."

Tears filled her eyes as she stared at him, "I'm sorry, Joe." She sobbed. She felt so bad for leading him on like she had, when she'd first started she had wanted this as much as he did but now, her insecurities had got the better of her.

He moved to cradle her in his arms, "It's fine, babe. I want you to be ready for us to do this. Never think I would force you to do something you aren't comfortable with."

"That's just it, Joe." She said, looking into his eyes as a couple more tears fell down her face, "I do want to do this but I'm scared."

"Of what?" He dreaded her answer. Did he scare her? Would this be the tipping point leading to the end of their relationship?

"That you won't think it's as good this time..." she whispered.

"Lauren, that's just silly. I don't think you could ever be bad at this. I want you so much, all the time and that hasn't changed since the first time I met you." He kissed her softly. Her arms were wrapped around his waist and as he deepened the kiss he realised she was pushing his pants down his legs. He pulled away from her, looking at her face and checking for any doubt, "Are you sure?" he whispered. She nodded, lifting her head and kissing him, moaning softly as Joey slid into her. Joey groaned, burying his face in her neck as he once again was reminded of everything good from that night. "God, babe," he breathed, "So good." He whispered. Once he'd caught his breath he lifted his head and stared into her eyes, "Are you okay?"

"Mmm." She hummed, smiling at him as her cheeks reddened.

"Good." He said. He moved slightly and Lauren moaned, her eyes closing as she felt him move within her. Joey grasped her hips in his hands and started to set a steady rhythm, moving his length within her. He kissed her neck and slowly lowered his mouth down until he was at her nipple. Her hands brushed into his hair, holding his head in place as he sucked it gently into his mouth. Joey wasn't sure what to expect but he found a little milk leaking from the tip that he brushed away with his tongue. Lauren wriggled underneath him and he worried that she wanted him to stop and then she cried out his name as she came and he realised that wasn't the case at all. He looked up at her face and saw her staring at him, her eyes wide as she gulped for air. "You okay?" he whispered to her.

"Oh yeah," She breathed.

He smiled, moving above her again, re-establishing the rhythm he'd previously set. Lauren moved her legs, wrapping them around his waist and both of them moaned as his angle in her changed. Joey increased his speed, needing to reach his peak now, desperate to feel her come with him. He moved his fingers to touch her clit and it had an instant effect on her, her back arching against him and he felt her tighten around him. He cried out her name, his voice much louder than Lauren's had been but it was soon joined by hers. They held each other tightly as they calmed down only to be disturbed by a soft cry from their son. Joey lifted his body from on top of her, "I'll get him," he said softly as he kissed her, moving from the bed and lifting Bradley from the crib.

Their son had grown a lot over the six weeks since he was born and was a healthy thirteen pounds in weight. His appetite was good and this was due to the fact Lauren fed him often. When Joey returned to their bed he found Lauren waiting her son and he handed her to him, watching as she settled him against her chest. She seemed so at peace as Bradley fed and she looked up at Joey's face, her eyes shining. "Thank you Joey." She whispered, holding her hand out to him and squeezing his fingers when he took hold of it.

Joey bent down and kissed her forehead, "I should be the one thanking you, babe." He told her gently. He could hear movement downstairs so he threw on some clothes. "Do you want me to get you anything?" he asked her.

"Some water would be fantastic." She said. He smiled and left the room to get her a drink.

Abi was the only person in the kitchen when he walked in there and he smiled slightly when he saw she wouldn't look at him. He was guessing they'd been a little loud. He shrugged and filled a glass of water. "Morning, Abs." He said. He chuckled as she dashed from the room. It seemed they would be in for a tough day if the whole family had heard them. As he walked back into their bedroom he found Lauren changing Bradley into a fresh nappy and he moved to stand behind her. She was still naked and again he thought how beautiful she was. He kissed her shoulder softly, staring down at their son as he lay on his back, his fist pushed into his mouth, drooling around it. "I should warn you, I think we were heard." He whispered against her skin.

"Who by?"

"I only saw your sister but she wouldn't even look at me and when I spoke to her she practically ran from the room."

"Oh god." Lauren said, embarrassment rising within her.

"Don't let it bother you, babe. It's perfectly natural and it wouldn't surprise me if Abs and Jay are doing exactly the same thing."

"Do you think anyone else heard?" she whispered.

"I guess we'll find out when we go downstairs." He said gently.

"Maybe I'll just stay up here all day." She muttered, picking up her son and holding him to her chest.

Bradley reached out for Joey's face, placing his drool covered hand over Joey's mouth. Joey chuckled and blew a raspberry against his skin, "Hello, little man," he said to him. He took Bradley's hand in his then brushed it across his lips. He then turned his face and kissed Lauren's temple, "I can sort out Bradley. Why don't you go and take a bath?" he suggested softly. She smiled at him, nodding and leaving to do as he said. Joey turned his attention to his son, spending some time staring at the perfect combination of him and Lauren that lay staring up at him, "Now, little man, I need you to be good today and tomorrow, okay?" he told him softly before slowly removing the nappy Lauren had just put him in. Bradley stared up at his daddy then blew raspberries at him. Joey laughed and lifted him into his arms, never getting tired of the rush of love he felt as he held his son in his arms, "Now shall we go and see what mummy's doing?" he said. He left the room and walked to the bathroom, knocking gently on the door, "Can we come in?" he whispered through the wood.

"Sure." She said softly and Joey pushed open the door. He locked the door behind him and leant against the wood, Bradley hitting his fist against his daddy's chest. Joey stared at Lauren as she lay submerged in the bath, surrounded by bubbles. Lauren opened her eyes and stared intently at her boyfriend, "hi," she whispered.

"I thought maybe Bradley could have a bath with you." Joey suggested.

Lauren lifted her arms and held them out towards Joey, taking their son from him when he moved closer. "Hiya, bubs," She whispered to him once he was lying on her chest. Her hand stroked his back softly and he snuggled against her, his body curving against hers.

"I'll leave you with him," Joey said in a whisper, rising to his feet and turning towards the door.

"Stay Joe," she said, beckoning him back over to the bath when he looked at her. He walked back to her and crouched beside them. Lauren's hand reached for him and she dragged his head down so she could kiss him. "Join us." She breathed against his lips.

Joey nodded and then stood, stripping off his joggers. He was very aware of Lauren staring at him as he removed his clothing. He smirked at her slightly when she blushed as she realised he knew what she'd been doing. She sat upright and moved forward in the bath so he could climb in behind her then leant back, feeling his firm body against her back and his arms wrapped around her waist. She leant her head against his shoulder, turning it slightly so she could kiss his neck. Bradley squirmed slightly against her and Joey's hand curved around hers, supporting their son easily against her body. "I love you," he told her softly.

"I know you do," She said, a smile gracing her face, "I love you too. Both of you." She added.

TBC

**A/N2: So there is it. After writing this, I realised that Joey is naked for pretty much the whole chapter... such a shame! Don't say I never do anything for you. Let me know what you think - send me a review.**

**I've now finished the new chapter for this story (as mentioned yesterday) and I'm pretty pleased with it. Just as well really or Tuesday could've been a bit of a let down as I wouldn't have anything to post.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So this is my favourite chapter of the story. Not that I dislike the other chapters but this has so many bits in it that I like... so I hope you enjoy it too.  
**

**Chapter 11.**

It was Christmas morning and Joey could barely contain himself. Today was the day. The family were all coming over to number 5 for their Christmas dinner. There were a large number of people attending. This would be the first Branning Christmas Joey had been at and at first he'd been a little unsure if it was what he wanted to do but the thought of sharing this special time with his son and Lauren was all the enticement he'd needed.

He was currently responsible for looking after Bradley as Lauren was helping her mum with food preparation. Joey had long ago decided he had definitely got the better end of the deal. The only problem he now had was that Bradley wanted feeding and that was something he still needed his mummy for. He picked up his son, holding him against his chest with one arm and started the treacherous trip to the kitchen. As soon as he opened the door all the women in the room turned to look at him.

"Joey?" Lauren asked him, worried.

"Bradley's hungry..." he told her gently. "I'd have waited but he's getting a bit anxious." He said, Bradley beginning to struggle against him as he spoke.

"You can't leave," Abi protested to her sister, "Who's going to finish chopping the vegetables?"

Lauren looked at Joey, a smirk appearing on her face, "Swap?" she said, tilting her head as she saw him blanch.

Joey swallowed, "Okay." He said hesitantly. "I can't promise I'll be any good though." He added.

Lauren got to her feet and walked over to him, rising to her tiptoes and kissing him softly on the lips. She took Bradley off him and made to leave the room, "Good luck, Joe." She said, blowing a kiss towards her petrified boyfriend before walking out of the room.

Joey took a deep breath and then went to the seat just vacated by the love of his life, "What do you need me to do?" He asked Tanya softly.

"You can start with the beans," She said, smiling when she saw the bewildered expression on his face. "Come on, I'll show you what to do." She said. For the next couple of minutes she slowly showed him how to prepare the beans then she watched him as he began to do as she'd told him to.

Joey had never realised how much effort it took to prepare a meal. Admittedly it felt like they were feeding the five thousand but still, who knew it was this difficult? He'd been in the kitchen for almost an hour now and having finished the beans, he'd then been tasked with peeling and chopping potatoes. He was pretty sure by this stage that when it got to actually eating the food he would probably feel sick at the sight of it but he kept going. He could see that Tanya was keeping an eye on what he was doing and he didn't want to let her down. She'd really been a help to him since this all began and the thought of disappointing her was unpleasant at best. Alice entered the room and she stopped when she saw her brother sitting with the Branning women. "Joey?" She giggled.

"I'm doing my bit towards dinner," He said, somewhat disgruntled at the amusement she was taking at seeing him.

"He's doing a really good job too." Tanya said, defending his honour against the teasing. She smiled at Joey, pride written across her face and it actually made Joey blush.

"I've finished." Abi said, standing and leaving the room, dragging Alice with her before her mum could find something else for either of them to do.

"Abi?" Tanya called after her daughter, her stance sagging when she got no response.

Joey looked at the pile of potatoes he still had to peel and sighed softly. Sharon took the seat vacated by Abi and grabbed one of the potatoes, beginning to peel it with much more ease than Joey ever could hope to achieve. When he tried it he was all fingers and thumbs and the potatoes were much smaller in size than before he'd started once he was done. "So Joey, you must be excited about Bradley's first Christmas?" she asked.

"Yeah. I mean Lauren and I haven't got him many presents or anything. He's a bit too young to really appreciate it all really but I'm looking forward to seeing his face."

Tanya laughed, "I remember Oscar's first Christmas... well I guess it was his second one really, he'd just celebrated his first birthday a couple of days earlier. Max came into the room dressed as Santa and it scared Oscar so much he screamed the place down. Abi was the same for her first one too." Tanya smiled as she thought back.

"What about Lauren?" Joey asked with interest.

"She would've been about nine months old for her first Christmas. Max came in dressed as Santa and she just laughed at him, held up her arms to tell him she wanted to be picked up and then fell asleep against his shoulder, gripping tightly onto his beard as he gave out the gifts." All three of them laughed at the visual image she'd provided, "He had to hold her for about two hours before she woke. Each time he tried to put her down she'd start to cry so he didn't dare try after two attempts. He was sweltering in that suit as well. I thought he was going to pass out at one stage." Tanya smiled, "He refused to put the suit on the following year but Lauren looked at him with big puppy dog eyes and he quickly changed his mind."

Joey smiled as he thought about Lauren, glad to know he wasn't the only person in her life affected by those beautiful eyes of hers.

"So, what have you got Lauren for Christmas?" Sharon asked.

Joey dropped the knife he was holding on the floor and hastily picked it back up, wiping it clean and turning back to the table. "Just a few little bits." He said softly, refusing to make eye contact with either of the women.

"Oooohhh, sounds like someone has something special planned," Sharon teased.

Joey stared at her, stunned and unsure how to get himself out of this situation. "Leave him be, Sharon." Tanya reprimanded her friend gently.

"I'm just teasing..." Sharon said.

"I know but maybe you shouldn't do that? I'm sure Joey just wants it to be a surprise for this afternoon. Right Joey?" Joey nodded. "How's the house going?" Tanya asked her best friend, moving the subject safely onto the house two away from theirs that Jack and Sharon were buying. It had been decided that Jack needed a bigger place than the flat he was currently living in, in fact Alice would be moving in with him once it all went through.

Joey phased out the conversation after that point, his thoughts fixed on what this afternoon would entail. Part of him was a little worried that it would be a disaster but he held hope that it would turn out alright.

*JL*JL*

Joey sat on the couch with Lauren in his lap and Bradley nestled against both their bodies. Everyone was completely stuffed after lunch and was taking a bit of a breather before the attention turned to the presents.

"Good job with the vegetables," Lauren murmured. "Mum said you were a lot of help."

"It was okay once she showed me what to do. I've never been so scared in my life though," he admitted, "And I'm not sure I plan on it being a regular occurrence."

"You know what they say... practice makes perfect." She teased him gently.

Joey kissed her forehead, his eyes glancing around the room. Everyone else was focused on other people and he knew that now was the perfect time. "Lauren..." he whispered to her softly.

"Yeah?"

"I'd like to give you one of your presents now." He whispered.

"Shouldn't we wait till dad comes down?" she asked.

Joey shook his head, "I thought maybe we could do this one in private, without everyone watching us." He said as he stared into her eyes.

Lauren looked at him, "okay." She agreed.

"It's on one of the low branches at the bottom of the tree." He told her gently.

Lauren got to her feet, brushing her hand through Bradley's short black hair and kissing Joey on the forehead before turning and walking over to the tree. She peered at the tree discreetly, trying to locate the present without drawing any attention from the rest of the family. She found a smallish gift bag resting on a branch near the bottom of the tree and picked it up, waving it slightly at Joey and seeing him nod. She walked back to him and retook her place on his lap. Joey had shifted Bradley in his arms so she had room to manoeuvre and she slowly undid the bag. Inside was a small cube that she pulled out and shook gently. She saw Joey smile at her and she started once again to unwrap the present. Inside the box was small pouch and Lauren looked at Joey in confusion, finding a small smile teasing the corners of his mouth, "Is this pass the parcel?" she asked him quietly.

"You're nearly there." He said, his arm wrapping around her waist.

Lauren undid the bow at the top of the pouch and loosened it so she could get her finger and thumb inside. She reached into it and pulled out a small object. "Joey?" she gasped.

"Marry me?" he breathed into her hair.

She looked at him, seeing the nervousness in his eyes and knowing now wasn't the time to laugh. "Yes." She whispered back to him. He smiled widely at her then kissed her deeply.

He reached for the ring she held in her hand and took it from her. He picked up her left hand and slowly pushed the ring onto her finger, "I love you Lauren Branning," He told her seriously, "And I always will." Another kiss was shared between the two and this one caught the attention of the rest of the family.

Tanya was the only person to witness all of the interaction between the couple. She saw the moment when Joey had asked Lauren and then when she'd said yes. Her heart was beating madly as she saw Joey slip the ring onto her daughter's hand and the moment brought a tear to her eye. Max appeared at her side, his Santa outfit firmly in place. "You okay?" he asked her.

She nodded, "He just asked her to marry him," she whispered in his ear as she hugged him tightly. "She said yes." She told him.

Max was smiling when they pulled apart from each other. He poured himself a glass of wine and cleared his throat. "I think Joey has something he'd like to share with the family?" he said, staring intently at the couple on the couch, a wide smile on his face.

Joey saw everyone's attention turn to them and he caught the grin on his uncle's face. 'How did he know?' He asked himself but decided it didn't really matter. He seemed okay with it all. He took a deep breath and glanced at Lauren. She smiled at him, "I just asked Lauren to be my wife," he said happily, "and she said yes."

"To the happy couple." Max pronounced, raising his glass in a toast.

"The happy couple..." and "Joey and Lauren..." echoed around the room while Joey kissed his fiancée.

TBC

**A/N2: See in some ways I think this Joey is even better than a naked Joey (although it's a close thing). What did you think? Let me know and send me a review.**

**Just three chapters left of this one - but would it surprise you to say I have another story on the go. Still got quite a bit of it to write but I'm more than halfway through... I think.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So here's the next chapter - the one I added to this story at the weekend. It's got a little of all kinds of Joey... Enjoy!  
**

**Chapter 12.**

Today was a date neither of them would ever forget. A year ago today had been that night; the night that changed both their lives irrevocably. Lauren smiled as she dressed in almost the same outfit as she had the year before. It was the first time she'd fit back into her old clothes and she'd worked really hard to get to this point, knowing she wanted to make tonight as special for Joey as last year had been. She'd discovered it was his birthday next week and they were making tonight their night to celebrate both events.

"As stunning as you were a year ago, babe," Joey said as he stood in the doorway of their room, his voice startling her and she stared at him in the mirror.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She smirked at him.

Joey stalked over to her, turning her and pulling her against him as soon as he was close enough. He kissed her eagerly, his hand sweeping into her hair and holding her mouth against his. "Mmm, tasty," he smiled at her as he reluctantly pulled away from her. His eyes were dark and intense and took her breath away much as they had on that night.

"It was looks like that which got us into trouble last year, Joe." She breathed.

"Do you regret it?"

"Never." She whispered to him. "I could never regret what we did that night. If it hadn't happened, we wouldn't have Bradley now. I wouldn't have you." She rested her head against his chest, "And I'd be a drunk layabout with no prospects whatsoever." She told him sadly.

"I would've found you. I have to believe that, Lauren." He said, his hand brushing down her back. "We would've ended up together, I know it."

"How can you be so sure?" She asked him.

"I always would've followed Alice here. I would've met you and the rest would be history." His logic couldn't be faulted.

"Still I don't regret it. I wouldn't change anything if it meant we'd lose Bradley."

"Nothing?"

She smiled at him, "Well, I might have not let you leave me that night." She said quietly. "Especially as you were going to lose your job anyway." She smiled at him.

"I wouldn't have let you push me away all those times." Joey breathed into her hair.

"I wouldn't let you go. I'd have told you about the baby and let you help me as soon as you arrived in the square."

He kissed her, his hand caressing her face. "We'd better go." He said to her.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," He told her, grabbing her hand and pulling her behind him as he walked down the stairs.

"Are you sure you're okay to look after Bradley for us tonight?" Lauren asked her mum and dad.

"We have looked after a baby before, Lauren." Max teased her with a smile.

"I know. I know." She said, "It's the first time we've left him for an evening though." She said.

Tanya walked forward, Bradley held in her arms. He was almost asleep, his eyes fluttering open intermittently. Lauren took him from her mum and held him against her body, breathing in his scent and smiling. "We don't have to go out if you don't want, babe?" Joey said to her softly.

"No, it's okay. It's just one night." Lauren said, smiling as she remembered when she'd said that exactly a year ago, passing her child back to her mother. "There's milk in the fridge for his feed later," she told her mum.

"We have our mobiles with us, if you need us for anything," Joey said. "And we won't be home that late."

"Don't you start, Joey." Max teased him. "And don't forget you've got work in the morning."

"I know, uncle Max." Joey had started working for his uncle at the car lot in the New Year and so far it had been a successful decision for both parties involved.

A taxi was awaiting them as they left the house and Joey held the door open for Lauren before climbing in behind her. Lauren leant against his body as they drove away. "I love you, Joey Branning." She said to him.

"As I love you." He whispered to her.

Lauren smiled as she saw the taxi pull up outside the same club. She should've guessed really. It was the only place for them to return to. "Here?" She said.

"What better place was there for us?" He pulled her towards the entrance and the doorman smiled at him in recognition, waving them in, despite the queue. They joined a queue for the bar, Joey wrapping Lauren in his arms, tightly holding her against his body. Once they were at the bar he ordered a beer for himself and a diet coke for Lauren, since she was still breast feeding. "Do you want to dance?" he asked a little time later when they'd finished their drinks.

"I'd rather..." she whispered, blushing as her words faded.

"Later." He whispered, "There's plenty of time for that later." He pulled her hand and led her into the middle of the dance floor. They stared into each other's eyes as they moved in time with the pounding music. The longer they stayed there the closer they got to each other, the intensity between them increasing to the same heady mix as it had a year before.

Joey stared at his fiancée, admiring her in the same way he had done the year before. She looked slightly different twelve months later. He realised she looked happier than she had then and he hoped that was partly due to his influence. She had lost most of her post-baby weight now, which had never bothered Joey, he'd think she was stunning whatever size she was and it wasn't like she'd put on a massive amount of weight but it had definitely mattered to Lauren and she looked much more confident with how she looked now. The remaining notable differences were her hips had widened slightly and her breasts were bigger, a fact Joey still enjoyed and she knew it. He was sure it was one of the reasons she'd been so desperate to wear practically the same outfit from last year. She knew what that top did to her cleavage and while it had been enticing then, now it was breathtaking. He pulled her close, one hand curving round her ass, knowing she'd feel his arousal. His other hand brushed up the side of her body, cupping one glorious mound as he pressed his lips to hers.

Lauren smiled against his mouth, tasting the remnants of this drink from earlier. She'd missed this; the freedom of her life from a year ago. She hadn't been lying when she'd told Joey earlier that she wouldn't give up Bradley for the earth but it was nice to have a reminder of how she'd once lived. She knew Joey wasn't holding her back and if it was in his ability to give it to her she could have anything she wanted but it was nice to just be a teenager again for the night; an engaged teenager with a baby at home but a teenager nonetheless.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" He whispered in her ear. She nodded, her eyes shining brightly as she looked up at him. "Do you want to stop dancing for a while?" he said, winking at her.

"I could be persuaded..." she replied with a small smile.

"Let's see if I remember how to do that?" He said, pressing his mouth to hers and igniting the passion between them much as he'd done a year ago. Lauren's feet were no longer touching the floor and she once more gave thanks to the time Joey spent at the gym each week. He pulled his mouth from hers, "Did it work?" he asked her.

"Oh yes. I remember now." She murmured, her breath coming in shallow gasps now.

"Shall we...?" he asked, staring into her eyes. She nodded and it was all the invitation Joey needed. He spun them around, moving them towards the edge of the room. He was a man on a mission now and it wasn't until he pressed her against the wall that he ceased moving. For many long seconds they just gazed into each other's eyes, the sexual tension between them was rising with each that ticked by.

Lauren was the first to move, her hands moving to the front of his shirt as she started to undo the buttons of his shirt. She kissed his chest over and over as her hands moved lower, her hand brushing past his erection so gently he almost saw stars.

Joey stared at her, his hand reached for her face and pushing her hair behind her ear, "You're so beautiful," he whispered to her. "I want you so badly," he told her.

"Then have me, Joe. I'm yours, you know that."

"It makes it easier that you're wearing a skirt this time," he said gently.

"A girl's got to plan..." she said with a wink.

"Minx." He breathed in her ear as his hand ran up her leg, stroking her skin tenderly.

She lifted her leg, wrapping it around his thigh, pressing herself against him, encouraging him to take her. It was an invitation he gratefully accepted, quickly thrusting into her deeply. "Joey..." she cried out, her head leaning back against the wall behind her.

His hands both drifted up her body, slipping easily under her top and cupping her much fuller breasts and he smiled at her widely when she moaned loudly. He had discovered she was very sensitive in this area when she was aroused so he took advantage of this whenever he had the chance to do so. Tonight was no exception. Lauren pulled herself closer to him, her arms wrapping around his neck, pulling his mouth to hers. They both got caught up in the kiss, moving automatically, both striving for that perfect moment of bliss together. They came within seconds of each other and Joey collapsed against Lauren, little realising he was the only thing keeping her standing. "Still amazing, babe." He whispered in her ear.

"Joey, take me home." She murmured in his ear.

He pulled away from her, checking she was okay and just seeing a smile on her face. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead tenderly, "Let's go, babe." He whispered, pulling away from her so they could both straighten themselves up.

*JL*JL*

Joey flagged down a taxi and they both clambered into it. Lauren leant against his body, her head on his heart, the rhythmical sound gently lulling her to sleep. She opened her eyes and turned her head slightly so she could look at his face, "Happy Anniversary, Joey..." she said to him softly.

"Back at you, babe." He said, smiling down at her before pressing his lips to her forehead. "I love you." He breathed against her skin.

"Love you too."

*JL*JL*

It was the morning of Joey's birthday and there was something at the back of Lauren's mind, not quite ready to break through to the forefront. She was sure there was something she'd forgotten but for the life of her she couldn't remember what it was. She lay in Joey's arms, enjoying the sensation, as always, of his arms wrapped around her. She had enjoyed this for the last four months now and she wasn't sure how she'd survived her life before then. How had she gone all that time without Joey in her life?

Each day they grew closer and this surprised Lauren because she didn't think they could get any closer than they already were but they managed to achieve it. He moved behind her as she lay there and she smiled when she felt his lips kiss her neck and shoulders. "Happy birthday, Joe." She whispered.

His hand slipped under the T-shirt she was wearing and move up her body to caress her chest. He certainly had a fascination with it as he tried to find a way to touch them whenever he could. It used to bother Lauren when she first realised this as she wondered if that was the only thing he liked about her and when she'd been self-conscious about her appearance she'd found this quite disconcerting but she soon realised it was every little bit of her he liked and she found his attraction to that particular part of her body also had a benefit for her. Since she'd had Bradley her boobs were particularly sensitive and she found she liked him touching them, in fact it led to her climaxing much quicker and usually more than once.

"Do you want your presents?" She asked him softly.

"I think I have my present right here," he whispered against her skin as his hand moved lower down her body.

Lauren slapped his hand away with a laugh and scampered from the bed before he could stop her. She heard him groan and it made her smile. She opened the cupboard and pulled out a small pile of beautifully wrapped gifts. She moved back to the bed and put the presents on his lap. Before she sat down she walked over to the crib and checked Bradley. He'd recently started only waking up a couple of times a night and it still left her concerned, even though he was just next to their bed. Lauren brushed her hand down his back and he stirred as she did so. "He's still asleep," she said to Joey.

"Come here, babe." Joey said, reaching out his hand towards her. He took her hand and tugged her gently so she sat on the edge of the bed. She leant forward and kissed him softly. It was a kiss he eagerly deepened.

"Present time," she said smiling at him when she saw him frown at her for ending the kiss.

"Spoilsport." He grumbled but pulled himself upright so he was sitting opposite her. Lauren smiled and passed him his first present. It was from Bradley. He tore away the paper and opened the box inside. Inside was a picture frame that had a professionally taken photo of their son. The frame was also one that she'd made using a kit she'd found on the internet. Either side of the image were clay impressions of one of Bradley's hands and a foot. "Babe..." he whispered. He looked up at her and she could see there were tears in his eyes. "How did you manage to do this without me seeing?"

"Mum helped me. We did them just after Christmas and she's had them hidden away since then. We took him to get the photos done a few weeks ago, just after he first smiled." The picture she'd chose was amazing, he'd posed like the charmer he would no doubt be throughout his whole life, much like his daddy if you asked Lauren. They'd had about twenty good shots to choose from but eventually settled on this one for the frame and she had some copies of a few of the others set to one side to show Joey later. There was also a nice photo of Lauren holding him which he would see later.

He pulled the frame closer, seeing the engraved nameplate at the bottom. He looked up at her, smiling softly at her he leant forward and kissed her softly. "Thanks babe."

"Bradley helped." She said with a soft smile.

"I'll thank him later as well."

Lauren lifted the next gift and gave it to him. "This is from me." She whispered. It was a small box and she saw him glance at her before he tore off the paper. He opened the small box and stared at the contents. "I thought you could wear them to work." She said nervously, wishing she could read his mind. He lifted the contents from the box, looking at them in detail. They were engraved cufflinks which she'd personalised for him. On the front of each one was the following inscription 'LB JB'.

"They're brilliant." There's a wide grin on his face as he speaks and Lauren is very relieved that he liked them. She'd thought he'd think they were silly.

"They just say how I feel." She whispered, blushing at her words.

"I feel the same way, babe," he said, brushing his hand down her face. His words made her blush even more.

"I just thought it was time I put it out there and made sure everyone knew it." Joey smiled at her and kissed her again. "There's one more." She said and she passed it to him. It was from both her and Bradley. He tore off the paper and found inside a photo album. "Alice helped me put it together." Lauren whispered. He leafed through the pages seeing photos from his childhood through to more recent times. A lot of the younger pictures were of him and Alice as they grew up. There were ones of him and Lauren from Christmas just after he'd proposed. He paused when he saw the ones of him holding Bradley in his arms when he was first born. There was also one that made him smile as it was a picture he'd taken of Lauren breastfeeding Bradley, her face reddening as she caught him taking the photo. Then there was the picture of Lauren and Bradley from the photo shoot that Lauren really loved and she saw Joey brush his fingers over the picture as he studied it. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the next picture; it was a picture of the two of them in bed together asleep, his body curled around hers. "Abi took it. She apparently got over her embarrassment of us having sex in her hearing and decided to get a visual image of us in bed together." Lauren said, a slight smirk on her face. She watched his face as he blushed, "I'm kidding Joe. I asked her to take it one morning." He turned the page and there was a photo of him sitting in the rocking chair, Bradley resting, curled up on his chest. Both of them were asleep. "That's my favourite one." She whispered, "I woke up and there you both were. I had to take a photo, you both looked so cute." She giggled, "Actually I may have taken another too." She looked at him, seeing the confusion on his face, "One that didn't stop at the waist. I decided that wasn't one really for public display." He quirked an eyebrow at her and continued turning the pages until a couple of pages later where there were no photos. "I thought we could continue adding photos to it."

"Thanks babe." He said, kissing her gently. "It must've taken you ages to do all this?"

"Well I didn't have a large amount of money to spend, so I had to get more creative." She said.

"Maybe it's time I thanked you properly," he said, putting his gifts to one side and tackling her to the bed so he was leaning over her. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Not today..." she whispered, smiling up at him.

"Well I do. More than I thought it possible." He said. A soft whimper came from the crib and Joey smiled at Lauren, pulling away from her and getting to his feet. He lifted Bradley into his arms, "Don't worry little man, I love you very much too." Bradley gurgled at him, smiling at his daddy. "Thanks little man for my birthday present. I love it. Well done for helping mummy with it. She couldn't have done it without you." He kissed his son softly, giggling when Bradley smacked him on the face with his hand.

Lauren watched them both and fell in love with Joey a little bit more as she saw him interact with their child.

*JL*JL*

Lauren was just putting the finishing touches to their breakfast when she realised what she'd been missing and she froze. Joey noticed, "Babe, you alright?" he asked her as he held their son in his arms.

"Yeah," she answered distractedly. She finished their breakfast and placed it on the table. They both ate, a silence falling between them that was not normal.

"Lauren, you sure you're okay? You're really quiet." Joey asked as he finished his food.

Bradley began to cry in his daddy's arms. "Here, pass him to me." She said, ignoring his question, "He's probably hungry." Joey stood and carried Bradley to her as she got herself ready. Bradley latched on quickly, Joey watching before leaning down and kissing the top of Lauren's head.

"I'm here when you want to talk about it..." he whispered. He stood back up and Lauren rested her head against his stomach, her thoughts in a whirl.

*JL*JL*

Lauren walked quietly back into the house, hoping Joey hadn't noticed her disappearance. Joey was standing waiting for her though, a sleeping Bradley resting on his shoulder. "Oh, hi." She said guiltily.

"What's going on, Lauren?" he asked her, concern written across his face.

"I just needed to pop out." She said, taking off her coat and avoiding looking at him.

"Bradley woke up. He was screaming the house down." Joey said, walking into the lounge and hoping Lauren would follow him. She did, shifting nervously from one foot to the other. "Babe, what happened this morning?" He asked, turning to face her. "Did I do something?"

"No." She cried out quickly to his last question.

"Then what is it?"

Lauren looked down at the floor, "I'm late." She whispered.

"I don't understand."

She looked at him, glancing at their son in his arms, "I'm late, Joe." She said, biting her lip as she saw the penny drop.

She wasn't expecting the huge smile she saw appear on his face. "Really?" He strode towards her and pulled her against him, kissing her passionately. "Are you sure?" he breathed.

She opened her bag and pulled out the pregnancy test she'd just bought, "Not yet..." she told him softly.

"Best birthday present ever..." he said, a huge grin on his face. Lauren rested her head on his shoulder and stared at Bradley as he lay on the other side of Joey's chest. 'Could she cope with a second one?' she asked herself. She actually thought she could, with Joey at her side.

TBC

A/N2: So there you go. What did you think?

**Also - side question. In the show - does Alice know about Lauren and Joey? I can't decide if she does or doesn't. As far as I can tell the only people who know are Abi, Tanya, Max and Lucy. Have I missed anyone? It's bugging me...**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: So the general consensus appears to be Alice doesn't know - but it's not been made clear hence why I asked.  
**

**So here is the penultimate chapter and as I can't sleep, I figured I'd post it now rather than wait till I get home tonight - which will be late... And wouldn't you know it, we're back (for the last time in this story) to a naked Joey. Such a shame... Enjoy!**

**Chapter 13.**

It was the night before the wedding and Joey had been banished from the house. He was being made to stay with uncle Jack and Sharon and to say he wasn't pleased by this arrangement would be an understatement. Not being with Lauren always made for a grumpy Joey and tonight was no exception. He couldn't sleep and his nerves were gradually getting the better of him. He wondered briefly how Lauren was coping without him. She didn't have Oscar for the night either, Max and Tanya had taken him so she could have a nice relaxing night before the wedding. Lauren hadn't been very relaxed about having neither of the men in her life with her so Joey knew she would be struggling as much as he was. His mobile beeped and he picked it up, finding he had a text message from his bride-to-be.

_I miss you. Can't you sneak over? I need to see you. L x_

He smiled as he read it. He sent her a quick reply.

_I miss you too. Let me know when the coast is clear and I'll be round. J x_

It was barely twenty seconds before his phone chirruped again. He was moving while he was still reading her message.

_Come now. L x_

*JL*JL*

Joey pushed the back door to number 5 open and slowly crept into the house. It was completely in darkness but as he walked up the stairs, he could see some light peeking under the door to their room. He pushed it open quietly and smiled when he saw her lying on the bed. She was clearly waiting for him and the image she provided set his heart racing. She was wearing one of his shirts but the buttons were undone, revealing her cleavage and giving him a clear view of the curvature of her breasts. She also had no underwear on. She was beautiful. He walked silently over to her, stripping his clothing from his body as he did so. By the time he reached the bed he was naked and he could see her eyes running up and down his body. He climbed onto the bed, crawling up her body and kissing her deeply, causing her to moan softly. "You need to be quiet, babe." He reminded her.

"I don't care." She said to him and she really didn't. She stroked his cock with her hand, feeling his body shake slightly against hers.

Joey pulled her hand from him, clutching it tightly in his fist and pushing his length into her. He was gentle with her, taking his time to show her with his actions how he felt about her. That changed when she pulled up her legs and wrapped them around his waist, tightening her grip on his body. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?" He whispered in her ear. She nodded her head, smiling at him. "Lauren..." he gasped, her name falling easily from his mouth. They came together and Joey collapsed on Lauren as he slowly calmed.

Lauren was lying against his chest, her eyes closed and a happy smile on her face. She opened her eyes and looked into Joey's, "I have a present for you..." she whispered.

"You do?" He said. She nodded, sitting up and turning away from him. He watched as she walked gracefully across the room, bending down and opening the wardrobe. He smiled at her when she came back towards him, admiring, not for the first time, how beautiful she was. She sat back on the bed and passed him a small wrapped box.

He stared at it, trying to work out what it was without unwrapping it. He lifted his eyes to meet hers and she smiled at him softly. "It won't bite." She reassured him.

He sat up in the bed and with slightly trembling fingers he pulled at the wrapping paper. Inside was a cardboard box and he glanced at her again before lifting the lid. A teddy bear was the first thing he saw. He pulled it out, discarding the box. The bear was relatively small but he noticed it was wearing a little T-shirt, one that wouldn't even fit Bradley these days. He noticed writing on the bear's shirt but it took several seconds before he could see what it said. 'World's best daddy' was scrawled across it in green writing. "I don't understand, Lauren."

"You missed something." She whispered, glancing at the box he'd put to one side.

He pulled it back towards him and looked back inside. There was another present inside, wrapped in the same paper. He tore at it, more eager this time and pulled out what was inside. He stared at it, looking at Lauren when he realised what she was telling him, "Really?" His face lit up with the most beautiful smile she'd even seen.

She nodded, her eyes bright with unshed tears, "About eight weeks." She confirmed.

"When did you realise?" He asked her, pulling her towards him and kissing her tenderly.

"It only occurred to me that I was late about a week ago. At first I just thought it was because of the stress of the wedding but I really haven't been that stressed. So I brought that test and took it."

"You could've told me. I'd have been there for you." He said, his hand moving on automatic pilot to push her hair behind her ear.

"I didn't want to raise your hopes." She said gently. He stared at her intently, shock written across his face. "I remembered your birthday, babe," She whispered, a tear running down her face as she'd remembered that moment. His birthday had been six months earlier and Lauren's period had again been late. She'd shared this with Joey and had witnessed the excitement that appeared on his face when he found out they could be expecting. It was the perfect birthday present for him, she'd discovered. A short time later she'd seen the devastation replacing the excitement when the test came back negative and she realised how much he'd wanted it. "I couldn't see your disappointment for a second time. It would've been bad enough feeling it myself, I didn't want to put you through that." She explained. "When it came back positive I wanted to tell you then but I knew because of the timing I could make it more special." She admitted to herself that after the last time, she needed to make this special for him. Both times really if you take into account when she was pregnant with Bradley as well.

He pulled her onto his lap and hugged her tightly against his body, his hand brushing up and down her back, "I just want to be there for you this time." He breathed into her hair, his own thoughts clearly drifting to her last pregnancy too.

"You will be," She smiled, kissing the side of his neck tenderly. They remained where they were for several minutes until Lauren shifted slightly, feeling his cock harden beneath her. She smiled and moved so she slowly lowered herself onto him. "I love you Joey Branning." She breathed as he stretched her open. "Tomorrow I get to become your wife." She told him gently, smiling when she saw the adoration for her written across his face and hoping he realised she felt the same way. She started to move on him, relaxing against his body as she felt her arousal already climbing and she knew it wouldn't be long for either of them. She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at his face, feeling his hand grasping her hips tightly. Her hand brushed up her own body and covered her heart, "In here though... I've always belonged to you." She whispered, "Ever since that night." She told him, "You ruined me for all other men, Joseph Branning. You were all I ever wanted and I'm glad we found each other again."

"Me too." He said to her, his lips brushing over her face and settling on her mouth. She gasped his name, reaching her peak quicker than even she imagined and Joey wasn't far behind her. They sat together afterwards, both catching their breath until Joey moved them both, his length slipping from her as they lay down. He lay behind her, her back to his chest, his arms wrapped around her. "I'm also glad that this time I get to be there with you." He told her as his hand came to rest on her still flat stomach, his fingers brushing her skin, sending various emotions throughout her body.

Lauren felt her emotions flutter, she was unusually weepy at the moment, anything would set her off and it had been difficult to keep this from everybody in the last week once she knew the reason behind it. She shifted in his arms, pushing her body back into his and feeling him pulling her closer, "Will you still love me when I'm waddling around the square and I'm the size of a house?" She whispered to him, the insecurities she felt after Bradley's birth niggling at the surface.

"I will always love you, Lauren Branning." He said, his arms tightening on her instinctively. "I've loved you since that night. You were all I could think about." He breathed into her ear. "Anyway, you'll be giving me the greatest gift you could ever give me, how could I not love you for that?"

She smiled at his words and the shiver that runs down her back, "You should go..." she reminded him gently.

"I don't want to." He protested, "I want to stay here with both of you," he said, his hand caressing her stomach tenderly. The heat of his hand felt amazing and she wished, not for the first time, that he'd been where he was now when she'd found out the first time round. She knew he was going to be supportive about this and that filled her with joy.

"You need to have gone before anyone else gets up," she agreed, unable to say no to him. How could she when he was right where she wanted him to be?

Joey smiled and it was the last thing he remembered doing before he fell asleep.

TBC

**A/N2: So did I fool you with the last chapter? It was meant to be misleading (if you fell for it) - so don't feel back but I did give small clues... Let me know what you think - send me a review. Last chapter will be posted tomorrow night.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: So here's the last chapter. Kind of sad to see this one end already. Thanks to everyone for their reviews (so far). It's so good to hear feedback from people about what I've written and at least one part of this story wouldn't have been here if not for getting them.  
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**Chapter 14.**

Joey stood at the top of the aisle, waiting for his bride to be. He was so excited he could hardly stand still and it seemed his mood was affecting his son, who he held in his arms. Bradley was wriggling against him, nervous energy seeping from him. If it wasn't for the fact he'd get dirty as he crawled around the church Joey would put him on the floor and let him get rid of some of it, but he knew better than to let him ruin the little suit he was wearing. It had taken ages to convince Bradley to wear the suit he had on, it was only because Joey was in the same outfit that there had been any success and he wasn't about to risk it getting ruined now.

"Are you okay, Joey?" Tanya asked as she stood in front of him. He nodded, words failing him as he stared at Lauren's mum. She smiled slightly when she saw how nervous he was. She reached over and took his son into her arms, turning and passing him to Jack, who stood behind her. "Give us a minute," she said softly to his uncle. He nodded and walked off, Bradley in his arms, calmer than when Joey had been holding him. Maybe he'd been affecting him more than he thought. Tanya stepped forward and adjusted his tie for him, straightening it and pulling it tighter, "I wanted to talk to you about something, Joey."

"Okay," he whispered.

"I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you." She said with a soft smile, "I know how much you love my daughter and I know the last year or so can't have been easy for you." Her hand reached up to his face and she tentatively brushed her fingers through his hair, much like his own mother had done when he was a small boy, "I also wanted to thank you." She said quietly.

"What for?" he asked her, already stunned by what she'd just said to him.

"Not giving up on Lauren. For keeping trying when you first arrived on the square, even when she kept pushing you away. You could've walked away at any time and you never did, despite how painful it must've been for her to keep rejecting you." There were tears in her eyes now.

"Not as painful as the months when I didn't know where she was." He admitted. "Loving Lauren is the easiest thing I've ever had to do. Getting her to admit she loved me back was the hard part."

Tanya beamed at him, "I'm glad you convinced her to do so. I don't think anyone else would've been the right person for her." She hugged him tightly, "I'm glad I get to call you my son." She whispered to him softly.

Joey inhaled sharply at her words. Even his mother wasn't interested in him anymore. She'd left London to stay with friends within weeks of Joey and Alice moving to the square, shortly after Alice saw her when Bradley was born and hadn't even responded when he contacted her about her grandson. The wedding invitation had been returned in the post two weeks after sending it, taped back shut and it had been like a knife to his heart. In some ways her rejection of them had been worse for him than Derek's because that had been expected and his mother's had not. He also took it much worse than Alice did. The only thing that had kept him sane during that time was Lauren. She'd been there for him, holding him when he'd given in to the tears, reassuring him that he would never be as bad a parent as either of his. The one black cloud that had hung around him for all of those weeks since then had been the sadness of knowing he had no parents that cared for him. It had been painful for him but he'd convinced himself it didn't really matter. With Tanya's words though he knew it did matter. He did need parents and it seemed she was taking up the offer of being his mother without him even having to ask. "Thanks mum." He whispered, hugging her tightly.

She pulled away from him, tears in her eyes as she looked at him proudly, "Max feels the same way about you too, Joey." She told him, "You'll never be able to replace Bradley, no one ever could, but you're the closest thing to it. He loves the fact that you're working at the car lot with him. He's so pleased he's planning on changing the name back to its original one," Joey lifted an eyebrow in question, not understanding what she was saying, "He's changing it back to Branning and Son." Tanya said, a smile growing on her face when she saw the stunned expression replacing his confusion. She glanced down the room and saw Jack walking back to them, a huge smile on his face as he nodded to her. "It's time." She says gently to her new son.

Jack walked over and handed Bradley to Joey, "Are you ready, little man?" Joey asked his son.

"Dada..." he said, looking up at his daddy with huge round eyes.

"Good boy..." he says quietly, "You remember what we practised this morning, Bradley..." He kissed him gently on the temple. He'd been working with Bradley over the last few days when it appeared that he was starting to talk. The first time he'd heard him say dada had taken his breath away and it was important to him that Lauren got to enjoy that same feeling.

He stood straighter when he heard the music begin to play, his arms tightening around his son automatically. Taking a deep breath he turned his head to see her for the first time and he froze. She had never looked so beautiful. He wasn't sure if it was the knowledge that she was, again, carrying his child or the confidence she possessed as she walked towards him but he was caught, hook, line and sinker. Bradley wriggled slightly in his arms, seeing his mummy coming towards him and smiling widely at her.

When she finally reached his side, Joey took a step towards her and Bradley reached out for her. Lauren smiled at them both and took her son's hand. Like the little pro he was, he stuck to the plan his daddy had been working on and excitedly called out one word, "Mama."

Joey's eyes watered as he saw her look at their son in wonder before turning to him. "Something we've been working on." Joey told her gently.

When he spoke Bradley turned and looked at him, "Dada." He cried out, clapping his hands together which made everyone else in the room laugh softly.

"Good job, baby boy." Joey said in a whisper to his little man. He turned to Alice and passed Bradley to her, brushing his hand through his dark curls before turning back to his beautiful bride. Joey stepped closer to her and took both her hands in his, "Hi." He said, smiling at her.

"Hi." She said softly. "Shall we do this then?" she asked him quietly, looking almost scared that he'd say no.

"There's nothing else I want to do." He replied, only slightly lying because they were both more than aware there was something else he'd rather be doing with her and it wasn't something you should do in front of a crowd of people, although he laughed to himself when he realised that they'd done just that that night when they met. Joey squeezed Lauren's hand in his as he thought about the gift she'd given him the night before. He was determined to be there for her every step of the way this time. She'd probably regret telling him he was going to be around so much, no doubt annoying her with his overprotective nature. He wasn't going to miss out on a thing this time. He smiled at her, seeing her blush as they waited for the vicar to start. One last thought ran through his head before the service began. Maybe this time it would be a girl...

**The End.**

**A/N2: So there you go. I haven't ruled out a sequel for this story... in fact most of my stories are left open enough that I could do a sequel - just in case I have some inspiration. And that is most definitely the case with this story. I need to write some of the stories I'm already thinking about before I go there though. I've got one mostly done... just need an end and the middle... and to change the start a bit but it's there in essence. So I'll hopefully start posting that in a week or so. Of course I may get sidetracked by another idea that starts screaming out at me so you'll have to wait and see.  
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**Anyway I hope you liked this story. Send me a review and let me know what you think. See you soon no doubt...  
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